The Blood Wars II
by Chrissiemusa
Summary: Sequel to 'The Blood Wars'. Flora and Helia survived the District Games, but their real fight for survival has only just begun. Multi-chap. Hunger Games Crossover. Rated M. Complete.
1. Prologue

**AN: This fan-fiction is a sequel to my M rated fic The Blood Wars. If you haven't read that fic than I highly recommend you do to avoid any future confusion. Thanks to everyone who requested and have been patiently awaiting the sequel, I hope that you enjoy it :)**

**Please note that this fiction will begin with a T rating but progress later to M. Additional warnings relating to content will be posted above specific chapters where required. Please follow them and take note, all warnings are there for a reason.**

**This story will focus on the second book inside the Hunger Games book series entitled **_**Catching Fire**_** but will not follow the direct storyline or structure of the book. It will however borrow particular settings and elements changed to suit the tributes I've chosen and their magical capabilities. **

**Please note that this story will be longer than the previous and that it will take several chapters before entering any action because of the Victory Tour.**

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**The Blood Wars II**

**A Winx Club / Hunger Games Crossover**

**Written by Chrissiemusa**

**I do NOT in any way, shape or form own The Winx Club or The Hunger Games Novel Catching Fire, they belong to Iginio Straffi and Suzanne Collins respectively and I am not making any money out of this fan-fiction.**

_**Prologue**_

"Let the games begin!"

It felt like a serious case of déjà vu when Flora signed the papers outside the Magical Reality Chamber, walked through the doors and was guided to her pedestal. She had been here before, it felt the same, smelt the same, and the horrors awaiting her were the same. They begged her to come, like hands reaching out of the pits of hell. But there was something different, she wasn't scared.

Just two days before she had prayed that the entire thing had been a dream, that they hadn't announced the Quarter Quell rule change but now she was calm. Her breathing wasn't irregular, her heart rate, although a little faster than normal, wasn't hammering out of her chest. Her feet had stopped shaking and her hands were steady.

She looked to the others standing around her and they all looked the same. They were the veterans after all and she was still a newbie. She was going to die. She knew it. Surviving the games once had been a miracle, being sent in a second time was a death sentence, Faragonda had already warned her that because of their actions last year they would be made prime targets and she knew it was true. After all, what better way to disguise their assassinations by sending them into the arena for the Quarter Quell?

Flora didn't see the need for them to change the rules and send previous victors back into the arena. After all, winning once should have made you immune to the reaping. But it hadn't and she and Helia were doomed to enter it again. She supposed the reason that she was so calm was because she knew that at least, if she did die, it would be swift and quick. These tributes, the mentors of those who went before and who had already experienced the extreme conditions, didn't need to experiment with the human body or taunt their victims. They just needed to survive the ordeal and get the hell out of there still standing.

The strangest part about their decision to put victors back into the arena was that not all of the districts, inside the games twenty four year history, had two victors, one male and one female. In many cases there were two women or two men who had won but no one to fill the remaining place. So the witches decided to use a general reaping for the remaining place depending on the gender that was needed. Flora was grateful that at least Helia was able to win otherwise another young man or child could have been going in with her.

Flora looked for Helia and could see him directly across from her. He nodded his head softly before smiling a little and she did the same.

One of the ancestral witches spoke over the microphone to open the proceedings and the list of tributes that Faragonda had presented Flora with appeared on screens around the arena. She glanced towards it, remembering as much as she could about each person as they were read out-loud to benefit the viewers.

_District 1 – Erakleon – Coda Torta and Samara_

Coda Torta was a strong man who had won inside the arena when he was fifteen. He had large broad shoulders and strong arms which suited his fighting style of double handed sword play. The woman next to him, wearing the same black pants, t-shirt and hooded jacket that they had all been given, looked to be slightly older than him and was quite frail by appearance. She had a pale, almost ghostly complexion and long deep red hair that flowed to her mid back, tied up inside a bun for the purposes of the official beginning.

_District 2 – Solaria – Radius and Luna_

The two didn't look at each other as they waved to the cameras and neither of them smiled. They looked to be the exact opposite of each other. He had shoulder length fiery orange hair, a full trimmed beard and sparkling orange eyes she had long light blonde hair and her eyes were blue. Flora always believed that Solaria was the planet of the sun but, as Faragonda had explained to them, it actually included the moon as well. She wasn't sure why the two weren't looking at each other but knew that the male of the two looked quite fierce and the woman reminded her of Stella which made her spine shiver.

_District 3 – Andros – Teredor and Niobe_

The couple looked like Nabu and Layla if they were older. The male had his hair tied back from his eyes while the other had it in a high pony tail. Her dark curls shone beautifully against the lights and Flora wondered how she managed to keep her hair looking so good when she was surrounded by salt air and sea water. Teredor was similar to Coda Torta in build but his arms were not as strong and Flora remembered that his win in the games wasn't a memorable one.

_District 4 – Quantum – Anagan and Stormy_

The pair were just a few years older than Flora and Helia. Stormy was a previous victor while Anagan was reaped from the city and thrown into the arena. From what Flora had observed inside the training centre he was extremely fast and did have some magical capabilities, which made her wonder if Riven's sudden use of magic was a hidden talent from district four. Stormy had won her entry in the games through stealth and hiding most of the time, only killing when necessary. But if Flora learnt anything from her victor's videos it was that Stormy could get quite hot-headed.

She had dark blue, almost purple, very curly hair that could be attributed to her power over lightning. The young man standing next to her, who Flora estimated to be eighteen years of age, had light brown skin and dark dreadlocks. A thin beard framed his face, much thinner than the other male tributes from the previous districts who all sported a thick, well groomed one. He looked to Flora on his left and smiled slightly making her smile a little back. He seemed to calm and she wondered whether it was for the same reason that she was.

_District 5 – Downland – Nebula and Abrupto_

Nebula was a victor but not one from Downland. She had been assigned the district when they needed a victor to escort tributes to Magix and her name was drawn from a bowl. Her own staff skills, Flora noted, reflected well inside Amentia who had made it the farthest any other Downlandian had inside the games. But, the tall and bulky seventeen-year-old who was the second person to be reaped from their district, would not last long. Downlandian's weren't built for the games. Living their entire lives under the ground they were not used to the hot sunlight, hunting or gathering in the woods. They were, however, the very best at camouflage and hiding though, considering how much bigger he was in comparison to Sponsis from the year before, Flora noticed that he probably wouldn't be able to hide all that well.

_District 6 – Gaien – Benjamin and Icy_

The smile that spread on the young man's face screamed both innocence and ignorance, and the eye roll from Icy made Flora almost laugh. It felt strange to laugh at him when she was in the exact same position just twelve months ago, smiling and waving to the cameras. She supposed the difference was that it was common practice before but the games rule change had changed a lot of behaviour. It wasn't about getting sponsors this time around or trying to impress the crowds. This time it was about survival and Benjamin didn't look like winning material. He had been selected from his district at the age of sixteen and had no chance inside this team of professionals. Flora felt sorry for him, his blue eyes and long black hair and tall body would go to waste, as a sacrifice to the arena. She was sure that she would soon follow and even looking at Icy made her uneasy. The witches long white hair and flair for cold magic had successfully won her the games when she was just fourteen and the betting agencies already had her as a favourite to take out the title.

_District 7 – Melody – Leon and Chimera_

Flora instantly remembered Musa from district seven the moment that the word 'melody' echoed through the reality chamber. She had the ability of supersonic hearing and she wondered whether either of the two who stood at opposite sides had it as well. There was Leon, a young slender man whose black spiky hair and deep red eyes scared the hell out of the nature fairy. It looked like he was some kind of demon that had come straight from hell and his wicked smile only gave her more evidence. The girl he had been paired with had been reaped from their district. She had long dark blue hair like Musa's only with bangs that finished just above her eyebrows. She was thin and pale and looked scared, what she had been once before.

_District 8 – Whisperia – Valtor and Griffin_

The most watched, talked about and favoured partnership of this year's games stood confidently and neither waved to their audience. Griffin, although famously known for her rejection of team work in all its forms, had been suddenly teamed up with a strong partner who Flora had seen talking with her on many occasions in their training. He was a tall man, had a fair complexion with a strong chin and bone structure. He wasn't particularly muscular but what he lacked in physical ability he made up with magic. He was classified as a wizard by the informants that Faragonda had used to get information, though exactly what kind was still a mystery.

Griffin was her usual self, thin, tall and her hair was the widest part of her body, closely followed by her hips. The pair had gained the most attention because Griffins method of winning during just the second year of the games was nothing short of incredible and the man she had been partnered with, as far as Faragonda and a number of others could tell; hadn't been reaped from his district or been a previous winner of the games.

_District 9 – Zenith – Ophelia and Glenn_

Glenn had been reaped from Zenith after Ophelia was pulled back into the arena. He had medium length silky hair that fell to frame his face. His square glasses were the same as Ophelia's which sat mid way on her nose. Her own red hair was tied into a high bun which made her look more like a teacher, doctor or technician rather than someone who could kill. Her win when she was seventeen included carefully calculated and co-ordinated traps and no physical combat moves. Brains had won over brawn and it was one of the most memorable victories in District Games history.

_District 10 – Earth – Morgana and Jason_

Although Earth was not a dominant force inside the District Games they had managed to produce two victors, one male and one female. The male, Jason, had blonde hair with two thin bangs and scary black eyes. He had a similar structure to Valtor though held no magical capabilities. Morgana on the other hand held a lot of magical strength. Her brown hair with two short bangs had been tied into a ponytail to stop anything getting tangled in their mad dash for the Tree of Life which Flora was sure would be as manic as ever.

_District 11 – Rythum – Sibylla and Gantlos_

Galatea and Derrick were the first two names that entered Flora's head, especially when Faragonda told her that Sibylla had been their mentor for the previous games. Her powers were never truly revealed but being from Rythum obviously meant they would be music based. She had long orange hair, tied up in two practical buns on either side of her head while the rest fell. She was of medium height and build while the man next to her was taller.

Gantlos had long blonde hair that fell past his shoulders and he won the games by using his famous sound wave clap attack to make a cave collapse in on the remaining three tributes that were hiding inside. It was a hotly debated win, especially considering the crowds thirst for blood hadn't been quenched. But, after all of their enemies and combatants had been introduced it came their turn to take the spotlight.

_District 12 – Linphea – Flora and Helia_

Flora raised her hand to acknowledge the camera but didn't smile and Helia did the same. He looked to her and offered another small kind and loving smile and she replicated it in her own. It was hard for her to believe that they only had one year together and this was how they were celebrating their anniversary. Inside the arena, served like food on a platter for the other victors who were stronger both physically and magically.

"The tributes are prepared! The settings are complete! It's time for this year's arena to be unleashed!" The witches familiar and ceremonial rhyme announced before a bright light illuminated the chamber and Flora lost sight of Helia. Ten seconds later she heard the sound of waves against the shore and the sounds of birds, monkeys, crickets and a variety of other animals. Then she finally opened her eyes and her jaw dropped. The Tree of Life was in front of her, on a separate round island and she was standing on the ocean. Or at least that was what it looked like. Sibylla, the tribute to her right looked around her feet and watched the fish swimming around their pedestals. Flora would have thought it was some kind of beautiful dream if she didn't know what was going to happen next.

To her left Flora noticed a landing that stretched from the central island and stopped just a jump away from her pedestal. She looked around, counting twelve in total, one between two tributes at a time so they could race to the island when the canon fired. Bending down she placed her fingers in the water and placed a finger to her lip. It was salt water, no hope of use for supply later.

The invisible barrier from the first game had been removed, simply because moving from the pedestal meant you'd fall in the water and that you'd be too sluggish to move. So no one dared to step off them. Flora's eyes searched for Helia's but she couldn't see him, realising that he was probably on the other side of the Tree of Life himself. All she could see at the base of the golden tree, and in some of the low hanging branches, were weapons but no backpacks which made her a little worried. Did that mean that food was somewhere else in the arena or would they leave them with no food to quicken the games duration? She wasn't sure but the countdown began and she didn't have time to think about it.

"The games will begin in 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4…"

Flora formulated a plan, run for it, get to the Tree of Life first, grab what she wanted and swim away. Surrounding where the tributes and Tree were located was a beach before the jungle and wild wilderness extended the rest of the way. Her best chance was to get into the trees.

"3…" She readied herself.

"2…" She held her breath.

"1…" The canon fired and all she felt was pain.

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**AN: Thanks for reading and please review so I know to continue :)**


	2. Homecoming

**AN: Thanks everyone who has taken the time to review :) the week or so that I took off updating my Winx stories for planning this fic has paid off, so for the next week or so there will be more frequent updates. Enjoy.**

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**Chapter 1**

_**Homecoming**_

It felt strange, to be sitting at the dinner table in her new home with her mother and sister like nothing had happened. Like she hadn't killed people inside the arena, or seen others die, or relieved those moments each and every time that she closed her eyes. Her body was tired but her mind was even worse. The other day she had put juice into the cupboard instead of the fridge, forgot her way home and walked to her old house instead and nearly hit Helia when he tried to sneak up and give her a hug. Her behaviour hadn't gone unnoticed by Lily or Miele and both of them had tried to help her to sleep but nothing had worked.

It had been another long day and Lily sat inside her lounge room, watching the fire inside their fireplace crackle every so often. The flames mesmerised her into a trance. A knock on the door made her rise to her feet and open it to see Helia standing outside. He offered a kind smile. "Hi…I was wondering if Flora was here."

"She's upstairs in her room," Lily replied, noticing that he was looking just as bad, if not worse, than her daughter. The bags under his eyes, his pale complexion, thin body shape and limp hair all signs of stress and a lack of sleep.

"Thank you," Helia acknowledged before walking past her and down the hallway, before turning left and walking up the stairs.

He paused at the door before knocking softly with his index knuckle. Hearing no reply he slowly creaked the door open and saw Flora lying quietly on the sheets, staring at a candle on her nightstand. There were flowers in her window panes that made the room smell beautiful and he carefully stepped inside. "Flora," he greeted, setting his jacket on a chair near her door.

"Hi," she smiled, ever so gently before patting the space next to her in bed and rolling over to face him. Helia lay next to her and gazed into her green eyes as she did the same to his blue ones. "What are you thinking about?" He asked.

"How I don't want to leave tomorrow and be paraded from district to district like some kind of hero," she sighed, looking away from him for a moment before taking his hand into hers and returning her eyes to his face; the candle light shining gently on his pale skin. "You look tired," she noted.

"I haven't gotten a lot of sleep lately…what about you? You don't look much better."

"I guess it comes with the territory," she replied, smiling a little before wondering why he had been staring at her for so long. "What?" she asked and he laughed. "What's so funny?"

"Even when you're half asleep you look beautiful." Flora's cheeks blushed involuntarily as he placed his fingers under her chin and guided her lips towards his own. She closed her eyes and felt them touch before they parted and Helia kissed them again, ever so gently and tenderly. She placed a hand on his chest and he opened his eyes as she leant away. "You know I love you right?" She nodded.

"Of course… Because I love you too."

The two stayed quietly looking into each other's eyes; their hands intertwined until Flora shuffled closer and leant her head on his chest. He held her body in his arms before kissing the top of her head and closing his own eyes, taking comfort in her very presence as the muffled sounds of night disappeared in the background and they fell to the world of sleep.

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The sun rose high into the morning sky as Flora opened her eyes and looked around her room. She noticed that Helia was missing and rubbed her eyes, trying to get them to focus. When she finally did she looked to her left and nearly had a heart attack at Bloom's sudden appearance. She clutched her chest with her hand in fright. "Geez Bloom you scared the hell out of me!" The red-head laughed a little before apologising.

"Sorry, I just didn't want to wake you."

"Where is Helia?"

"He's downstairs. Faragonda is there too. You know that today is the big day to start your Victory Tour."

"Yeah," she sighed, looking to the floor and using her right hand against her neck. "Not that I really want to go."

"You know that there isn't really an option," Bloom explained and she nodded her head in acceptance before getting to her feet. "Still doesn't mean that I'm going to like it."

Flora walked down the stairs to see Helia sitting at the table with his Uncle Saladin, her mother walked to the table and served their morning breakfast, putting plates with mountains of toast, juice and fruit in any available table space. It was incredible to see how quickly both their lives and that of their fellow district members had changed.

Just two days after their return the district was showered with food supplies, fresh and clean water, medicine, enough to last them for the next year. Before she used to tell Miele to eat every crumb and not waste a single piece of crust but now they had so much that there was room for scraps, which mostly made it out into the forest for the animals of nature to devour. She couldn't help but smile at Miele's new found family. Bloom, Daphne, Faragonda, Helia and Saladin had all become an extended family to the young girl who Flora had never seen her so happy.

"Hey, Flora!" She yelled, rushing out of her chair and to her sister to give her a good morning hug before pulling her towards the table. "I saved you a seat." She took her place, directly across from Helia who smiled while crushing a small piece of apple between his teeth. She sat without a morsel on her plate before she caught the gaze of Faragonda who raised her eyebrows and looked directly to the fruit bowl that Helia had been picking from earlier.

To appease her mentor she took the spoon in her fingers and removed a few pieces of kiwi-fruit, apple, orange and mango onto her place. Faragonda still watched her spear a piece with her fork and force it into her mouth where she chewed it and swallowed.

Saladin released a chuckle, taunting Miele with a magic trick that had two forks in the centre of two half apple pieces that looked like feet. She laughed as they ran and jumped their way down the table and back to his hands before he bit into them. "Lily," Faragonda spoke, after swallowing some of the apple and mango juice from her glass. "I must thank you for this. I've never received such a lovely welcome into someone's home."

"It's my pleasure," Lily smiled. "Besides, Helia is here so often that I'm used to waiting on guests." He blushed and Miele laughed. Flora pushed her plate forwards and her sister looked to her. "Flora you need to eat some more."

"I'm not hungry," she replied and Faragonda voiced herself.

"Flora you are going to need your strength for when we leave. We don't spend a lot of time in the districts when we get there. You won't have a lot of time to rest between stops and you'll need your strength." Flora nodded as her mother poured juice into her glass and Helia took a hold of the fruit salad bowl and emptied some more pieces of cut fruit into her plate before pushing it back towards her.

"I don't want you fainting on me," he joked a little though the adults at the table knew that it was very likely she would if she didn't force some food down her throat. She forced another piece of fruit into her mouth and Helia did the same, meeting each other piece by piece until they had eaten their first decent meal together. Bloom and Daphne smiled at Faragonda's head, slowly nodding in approval.

"So, how does the tour work?" Saladin questioned making Faragonda lean her elbows on the table and interlock her fingers, resting her chin on them. "We will be away for about a week, travelling through the districts. We start with district eleven and work from there though to Magix. Each stop will include a pre-written speech that Flora and Helia have to deliver and there will be the occasional invitation to dine at the families homes." Flora's eyes widened and she nearly choked on her juice. She coughed a few times making Bloom rise and gently pat her back. Helia looked to become paler than he had before and he formed fists with his fingers to hide their shaking.

"Y-you never said anything about that!" Flora snapped; standing to her feet as Helia remained quiet. "We have to…eat with the families whose children we…" she trailed off, suddenly feeling sick and running up the stairs, slamming the bathroom door. Bloom made a motion to leave and Faragonda nodded letting her tend to the young woman. "I'm afraid that it's a new rule, they decided to initiate it this year." Miele grew quiet and she looked up to Helia who still seemed to be in some kind of shocked state. "What happens after that?"

"After that we enter Magix, they will both have another interview with Avalon before a dinner with the Ancestral Witches as guests of honour." Helia whipped his head around and Faragonda's eyes softened. She knew the fear and pain hidden inside his pupils, how they desperately were screaming for answers, like a man on his last legs who had just begged whoever was above to hurry up and kill him. "Once that is over it's a straight trip back here to district twelve and the odd guest appearance here and there. They might be asked about who they think will win from next year's games for example but nothing too dangerous." Helia stood to his feet, moving the chair from beneath him as he stepped outside to get some fresh air.

Daphne made to get up but Saladin placed a hand on her shoulder. "It's alright dear I'll see to him." He turned to Lily. "That was a beautiful meal, thank you. I am sorry for Helia's sudden departure." She shook her head and offered a smile. "It's perfectly alright; there is no need to apologise. I'm sure we would all feel the same if we were in his shoes." He nodded before extending his hand to Faragonda who shook it firmly. "Thank you, for bringing him home."

"It's my job," she replied before he opened the door and followed, closing it softly behind him.

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Flora lay softly in her bed, listening to what was happening downstairs as Bloom lifted the covers over her body and closed the door, leaving her to her thoughts once more. Having dinner with parents of the children that she and Helia had killed or seen killed, she didn't even want to think about it. She could already see the faces of Galatea and Derrick's parents, or Riven and Mirta's, sitting across a dinner table making small talk and smiling to be courteous when all they really wanted to do was stab the two of them with a kitchen knife to get their children back. She wouldn't blame them for trying.

A knock on the door drew her attention and she watched Faragonda creep in and close the door behind her. She took a seat on her bedside before wiping a few stray hairs away from Flora's eyes.

"My dear," she sighed. "I know this is hard."

"Really!" She yelled, sitting up. "You know that this is hard! You didn't have to go through this!"

"No, but I am a victor and I went on the tour and did the speeches and the Victory feast with the witches and it was a tough for me then as it is for you now." Flora opened her mouth to bite back when Faragonda held her hand forwards and she stopped.

"I know that this is harder but remember what I told you on the way back? We need to be careful. Your actions inside the arena with Helia haven't gone unnoticed and this is part of their way to get back at you. If we can get through all of this and come back after the Victory Feast than it will all be over. You can stay at home for as long as you want and work through everything that you need to. But in the meantime you need to be strong, put on a good show and be honest with yourself," she paused.

"If you think that you can just put your blinkers on and not attend anything they want you to, or tell the world that this is wrong and refuse to do it, they will kill you. Don't kid yourself Flora, they could have already done it but they haven't. Why? Because you and Helia are the games most famous victors and killing you would be a sure fire way to bring rebellion against them and they don't want that. Your connection with the public is the only thing saving your life, so you need to give them what they want."

Flora nodded, bringing her knees to her chest. "I just…I don't know how much longer I can pretend." Faragonda understood all too well of where she was coming from.

"Think of it as a mask," she began and Flora looked to her wizened eyes. "You put it on when you are at any formal occasion and when you're home or on the ship with the others that's the time that you take it off. I'm afraid that, eventually, and if you have to pretend for too long, those emotions become real."

"What do you mean?"

"It's lying," Faragonda sighed. "I did it to, pretended to be alright when I really wasn't. My family never noticed because I got too good at hiding myself from them but I was crumbling on the inside. You are lucky because you have Helia who is going through the same things as you. The problem with lies," she returned to her previous point, "is that, if told enough, a liar can speak his lies as well as a truth teller the truth. In other words no one will know whether what you are saying is the lie or the truth and trying to keep track of your web of lies can damage you more than the lie itself."

"Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive," Flora quoted from Sir Walter Scott and Faragonda nodded. "Exactly, eventually the person who lies is not sure of when they are telling the truth and they lose the trust of their loved ones. I don't want that to happen to you or to Helia because your families, however small they are, are the most important things to you. And you need to hold onto them."

"What should I do?" Flora asked and Faragonda smiled softly.

"Be honest with them; tell them what you are thinking, don't be afraid to talk to them about what happened in the arena. They already saw it on the television screens, it's burnt in their memory just as much as it is in yours but the difference is the emotional connection is not there to these people. Tell them about Mirta and Musa and Galatea and Derrick. Open up and tell them the truth," she paused. "I guarantee they won't hate you for it."

* * *

That afternoon Flora walked with Helia by her side towards their awaiting airship. They stopped and she turned, feeling the warm embrace of her mother's arms. "Be strong Flora," Lily whispered. "Listen to Faragonda. You only need to do this for a week and then you'll be home, back here with us." Flora nodded.

"I know… I love you."

"I love you too sweetie," she leant backwards, feeling Flora's arms uncurl before she knelt next to Miele and took her sister against her body. Saladin and Helia exchanged some words and a hug at the same time. "Be careful," Miele smiled, looking in her sisters eyes as Flora placed her hand under her chin. "Look after mum and Saladin for me little one, until I get back." Miele nodded, relinquishing in her new found responsibility.

"It's time for us to leave," Faragonda announced as Bloom and Daphne walked onto the ship and they followed. Helia's left hand brushed against Flora's and she took it firmly into her own, their fingers interlinking as they walked up the ramp and turned to wave goodbye to their families for a second and hopefully final time. It was time to begin their journey, their Victory Tour.

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**AN: Thanks for reading and please review :)**


	3. Remembrance Of Things Past

**AN: Thanks everyone for the reviews :) I hope that you don't mind this slower start to the sequel. BW: Revelations will be updated soon but I have a fair bit of writers block on it at the moment. Enjoy.**

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**Chapter 2**

_**Remembrance of Things Past**_

Quietly the ship passed cloud after cloud as Helia sat on his bed with notebook in hand. His pen paused for a moment as he thought about what to write next and then he found the word he wanted and wrote it down. "What are you working on?" Flora asked and he lifted his head, seeing her leaning against the door frame with her arms crossed. "Just something, adding to my poetry collection."

"Let me see," she urged, stepping inside but he closed the books cover and shook his head.

"No, it's not ready yet and I don't want to show it to you until it's perfect." Flora nodded with understanding, taking a seat on the edge of his bed as he lowered a hand to take hold of hers. "You know which district is first don't you."

"Yeah," he sighed when Daphne appeared at the door.

"Faragonda wants to see you out here for a minute," she explained and they both nodded, walking out and taking a seat at their debriefing table. Faragonda removed two stapled sheets of paper and placed them on the table before taking another and keeping it on her lap. "These are your scripts; the Ancestral Witches have written them and sent them through. You are to deliver the same script in each district, don't attempt to change anything or deviate from what they have written, it will be easier if you don't." They nodded as Flora read over the words, the sentences. They weren't right, they didn't sound like something that she or Helia would say. They sounded so sterile, so carefully planned and plotted. The very opening line made her stomach do a back-flip and made her nauseous.

Bloom and Daphne stood in the far corner. They had never seen the script in written form before and usually their escort duties ended with the coffins of the tributes they had ushered to and from the arena. But this was the first time they had seen the aftermath and Helia saw the sorrow in their eyes.

"What else do you have?" He asked and Faragonda lifted the paper, placing it before them with her right hand.

The two leant forwards to inspect the list, it was in district order. "What is it?" Flora asked, noticing that the names Galatea, Derrick, Darcy, Musa, Rose, Riven and Mirta.

"These are the tributes whose families you will be dining with in their districts." Flora read the list again, noticing the similarities between them all.

"Wait a minute…they're-"

"Yes Flora, they are the tributes who you have either had a strong connection with or who you had conflicts with. The witches have chosen them especially in order to rattle you."

"But there is one that I don't understand," Flora replied, pointing to Musa's name. "Musa doesn't have any parents, they were killed a long time ago, her mother died by illness and her father was beaten to death during a robbery."

"This dinner will be with Professor DuFour, the young victor who mentored Musa and Jarad," Faragonda explained. "The witches have stipulated that if a tribute has passed away and they wish for a home visit to occur it will be with the mentor in replacement of their parents."

Helia bit hard on his back teeth, staring at the name Darcy while Flora had the same reaction with Rose. Trust the witches to choose the two tributes who had killed their friends and who they both had intense feelings about. Neither of them harboured any hatred towards them, considering that hating someone who was dead seemed pitiful and idiotic, but they certainly weren't looking forward to seeing their families. What hidden pasts did they have at home, what happened to them before they came to the arena? Why were they chosen and how did they react? Did they even have a family or a friend who loved them? Both victors heard the questions rolling around in their heads and only when Faragonda spoke again were they interrupted.

"We will be landing in district eleven in two hours. You will deliver your speech and have your first meal with Galatea and Derrick's parents before resting on the ship tonight as we head to district ten." They still didn't make eye contact with her and she shuffled a little uncomfortably in her seat.

"Hey," she spoke up and they lifted their heads. "Just one week and you'll never have to see the inside of this ship again."

* * *

The air felt thin as the ship came into land. Flora stood near the door and inhaled though felt her heart rate beginning to increase and panic start to build. She had never been out of her district before, let alone travelled to the others and her trip to Magix was supposed to be the first and last that she would ever have to endure. Helia's hand in her own helped to subside her emotions even though he was also feeling the impending doom.

When the ramp lowered they looked over the crowd and, rather than the usual hollering, whistling, cheers or exclamations of their names they were met with silence- complete and utter silence. Faragonda's hand on her back pushed Flora forwards and she walked with Helia through a designated path to the stage. It was the same stage as the one she had back home, built in the centre of town and the word awkward wasn't sufficient enough to define their situation. The tension and the hatred in some of their eyes cut through them like a blade through tissue paper.

"We now have the honour of the Victors Speech," a young man introduced, stepping to the side and ushering them both to take a stand. They moved quietly and Flora noticed a particular couple, standing before the other members of the crowd, two soldiers on their sides. The mother had long light blonde hair like Galatea and the father had a short crew cut with sideburns. The mothers blue eyes reminded Helia of Derrick the instant that he saw them. Neither made eye contact with them directly.

Flora unfolded the paper that Faragonda had given her, Helia doing the same. She read it over, trying to make the words focus in her mind's eye but they all seemed to merge into one. She took a deep breath and finally started to read, making Faragonda relax her posture as she did. "Thank you for your…"

'warm' did it really say 'warm'? She tried to ignore it and swallowed slightly before starting over, remembering what Faragonda had told them. Camera's, flew around them, trying to get the best shots as each visit received live streaming to the other districts though viewing was only mandatory for the victors visit in their own home.

"Thank you for your warm welcome, District Eleven." She hated the words the moment that they left her lips but she realised that she still had ten more deliveries of the speech to go after this one so she would need to get used to it. "This year's games required strong tributes and you certainly delivered. Galatea and Derrick fought valiantly…" she stopped again making Helia push her to the side gently with his hand.

"They fought valiantly and courageously against the odds though they were not in their favour. We salute their sacrifice and thank you for delivering such strong opponents and allies to the arena." He appeared strong, stronger than Flora, though these words did nothing to salute, only to harm. "Although we are alive and they are not they will always be remembered." At least that part was true. "Inside our thoughts, hearts and minds. We offer our condolences to their parents," he looked to the couple. "And to the whole district. May the odds be ever in your favour next year." He stepped backwards, looking at them all and feeling nothing but guilt. Guilt because he hadn't changed a thing, guilt because nothing that he could say would bring them back, guilty that he should breathe and live while they could not.

Flora walked off stage as the host got back on the microphone and announced their visit to the families before Flora threw her script onto the floor and punched her fist into a wall. "Flora-"

"No!" She yelled, right into her mentors face. Faragonda took a step backwards, holding her hands open in defence. "Flora I need you to calm down."

"I… that speech… what Galatea did for her brother was brave, valiant, admirable, the ultimate expression of-of love and of commitment and family values and protection and so many other damn things that this stupid script!" She squashed it beneath her shoes, "does absolutely nothing to address. The witches do not know who Galatea and Derrick are! They have no damn idea who they are and the district might be at a loss but treating their deaths the way they have it's…it's-"

"What they have always done," Faragonda sighed, bending down and picking up the scrupled piece of paper. "The witches have always done this. I know that the two of you could make a better tribute but I can't allow it."

"It just felt wrong," Helia agreed. "I said that I'd do anything to get home but…this is going too far."

"The only thing you can do to fix this, to show how you really feel, is to tell their parents." Flora lifted her gaze and Helia looked to her as well, slightly puzzled. "What do you mean?" Faragonda looked to the floor, hardly believing that she was condoning what she was about to say. "Your dinners with the tributes families are not recorded or for public view. You and Helia will go alone and there will be no cameras so you can say whatever you really wanted to say there." They both smiled a little, feeling better about the situation because what the witches tried to use to hurt them would back-fire in their face. If they used their opportunities to talk to the families of those they had been close to in the arena they could offer closure and comfort, or at least justify their actions without public ridicule.

"The only thing you need to watch is what they repeat to the cameras or to soldiers. If they let slip that you are really using this opportunity for something else then you could be in a lot of trouble." They nodded in understanding. "Now, we're staying in a five bedroom apartment just down the road from here. Bloom and Daphne are already there getting your clothes ready for tonight. We need to go and meet them."

* * *

The small group of three, accompanied by two guards, walked to their accommodations and Flora noticed how lifeless the streets were. With everyone gathered inside the centre of town not one person walked the streets to greet them, not one car drove on the road. 'Did they even have cars here?'

Helia looked just as puzzled before they reached the complex and got themselves ready for the evening. The sun had set on the small city and many people returned home with solemn faces. When they stood outside the door of Galatea and Derricks parents they didn't know what to expect. The door could open, they could be invited in, and then killed inside before they even had a chance to try and make things right, even though they knew that it wouldn't take away the hurt, frustration and anguish of the proud parents who were now childless. Sure, they might not have been the ones who killed them directly but their victory meant another's demise.

"Well here we go," Helia sighed, positioning his hand before knocking against the timber. They heard the sound of chains on the other side before it unlocked and they were face to face with them. Both pairs eyed the others off, wondering what the others intentions would be and what they would say to each other. "Come in," the father commanded and they did, closing the door behind them before their mother relocked the doors and drew the curtains.

Flora looked around the lounge room that she found herself in; it was small and reminded her of home. Pictures were on the walls and on tables and closets while the book shelves had just a few old novels and a guitar, flute and violin were tidily set in the corner slowly collecting dust. She could see down the hallway that there were the two children's bedrooms but neither of them had been cleaned out as of yet, their belongings were still intact. "You have a lovely home," Flora opened, breaking the tension a little.

"Thank you. I'm Roderick and this is Melinda my wife." Helia extended his hand and Roderick shook it firmly before ushering them to take a seat.

"Can I get you anything to drink?" Melinda offered. "I'm afraid all we have is water."

"Water is fine," Flora smiled. Silence filled the void for a few moments as she nervously sipped from her glass.

"We are both-" Helia began but Roderick held his hand in the air to signal silence. He stopped talking and was a little taken back.

"You don't have to say it, we could tell in your address that you are sorry for what happened…and we want to thank you."

"Thank us?" Flora asked. "Thank us for what?"

"We want to thank you in particular Helia," Melinda replied, looking into the young man's blue eyes. "You were there when Derrick died and you helped Galatea to get through it. We can't thank you enough for being there and not leaving them during their hour of need."

"But-" Helia stammered. "I…I half expected you to want to kill us." They both laughed.

"No," Roderick shook his head. "You were doing what you had to in order to survive and we both knew that Galatea was going to volunteer if Derrick was ever called." Tears still filled her eyes and she wiped them away with her sleeve. "I'm sorry."

"Please don't apologise," Flora sighed softly and that was when she realised what they were really trying to say. They weren't mad at them but were mad at the situation which was caused by the Ancestral Witches. They weren't going to kill them or take a kitchen knife and stab her in the back; they wanted to do that to the witches, the game makers, those who made the games. Her recognition was reflected inside Miranda's eyes and they shared a silent moment before Helia spoke again.

"I still…I still need to apologise for not being able to save Galatea," he sighed, sadness in his every word. "I wanted Derrick and Galatea to win if we didn't, they…they deserved it more."

"No." Miranda reached forwards, taking his hands into her own which made him look up from the wedding band on her finger and into her eyes, Derrick's eyes. "We both knew that Galatea wasn't going to leave without Derrick, without knowing that he was safe. You couldn't have saved her, she had made her choice. And we are both glad that, even though they are gone, you were the ones who won in the end instead of the others who weren't as kind." Their eyes were drawn with grief and Flora wondered how many nights they had spent crying, what tributes were given at the funeral, what memoirs of their lives were recorded. She nodded with understanding and patience and the rest of the night flowed rather smoothly until they had to leave.

With kind waves and smiles they left and began walking back to the ship, officers following to make sure they didn't deviate from their path. "Well…that was easier than expected," Helia admitted and she nodded. "Yeah."

One tour down, four more dinners and ten districts left to go before they could return home for good.

* * *

**AN: Thanks for reading and please review :)**


	4. Sons and Daughters

**AN: Thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far :)**

* * *

**Chapter 3**

_**Sons and Daughters**_

The two following district events were easier to digest for the victors. Flora and Helia had managed to hold their tempers, to read the words out loud and with sincerity and they had both come a long way from the events of district eleven. They knew that the journey would get easier as they went; each delivery easier to muster, each silent crowd was easier to face; though both were still worried when they landed in district eight. Faragonda walked the two to the stage, knowing that another family visit was on the cards and it was for the one tribute that Helia had mixed feelings about…Darcy.

She was sure they would handle it well, the previous report about their first visit screamed professional skill but this time she wasn't sure what would happen. She noticed Griffin standing to the side of the stage and she raised an inquisitive eyebrow. "Go on Griffin say it," Faragonda urged but she held her tongue. "You were right Faragonda; team work is what matters, what wins."

"I wasn't going to say that," she replied, her deep voice echoing quietly off the walls as Helia and Flora delivered their address. "How much longer are you going to milk their success? Huh?"

"Excuse me?" Faragonda defended. "'milk their success'?"

"Yeah," Griffin answered. "How much longer are you going to keep them together, keep them believing in love and teamwork, friendship? How much longer are you going to keep lying to them?"

"I'm not lying to them and, if I recall correctly, team work and their growing affection for each other are what have made them the most famous tributes the games have ever seen. It was what saved their lives. I am not 'milking' anything."

"Really? You know you are lying to yourself. These family visits?"

"I didn't organise them," Faragonda explained before crossing her arms defensively. "The Ancestral Witches did, if I had it my way we wouldn't be in these districts for any longer than necessary." Griffin watched the address end and the two new tributes to join the rank of victor approached.

"Hello you two, I suppose congratulations are in order," Griffin replied and the both offered smiles in return. "Well I must be off but remember what I said Faragonda…you can only play this game for so long. Flora, Helia, enjoy your dinner with Darcy's family." And with that she turned on her heel and left making both tributes look to Faragonda with questioning eyes.

"What did she mean play this game?" Helia asked and Faragonda shook her head.

"You don't have to worry about it, just Griffin trying to push her way of doing things, as always."

"Are we ready to go?" Flora asked before Faragonda nodded and ushered them away. Walking through the town as the sunset Flora noticed a distinctive difference in the atmosphere. Instead of the sky blue that she had back home, their sky was purple, a light bright pink and as the sun set it made the sky a darkening black. Helia wasn't sure of what to make of it either but he knew that each district, although ruled by the one government head, was very different to the last.

* * *

Helia adjusted his tie nervously before getting it wrong and pulling it apart once more. Flora knocked on the door and saw the frustration in his face, the tie seemed to be choking off his oxygen or maybe it was just his temper causing the sudden redness in his neck. "Are you okay?" she asked and he shook his head.

"No," he admitted, turning as she stepped inside and started to tie it properly. "The last visit was bad, not as bad as it could have been but it was still uncomfortable. This one…well…I'm not sure how I'll handle this one."

"Because it's with Darcy's family?" Flora asked, finishing the knot and folding his collar down delicately with her fingertips. He nodded before turning to admire her handiwork in the mirror. "Thanks, you did a good job."

"You're welcome, I used to practice on my dad when I was younger, guess I never really lost the skill." He turned and moved to his bedside, closing his notebook and placing it into his back pocket.

"Is any of it finished yet? I'm eager to see what you've been working on."

"No," he shook his head. "Nothing's ready yet." She looked sad but accepted the fact that Helia was probably worried about what he had written. His way of dealing with the memories of the past, and those that were created daily, was to write them down in poetry form. He placed his hands on her shoulders and she lifted her head. "I'm sorry…I just want them to be perfect before you read them. You understand that right?"

"Of course I do," she replied. "It's just, the last two stops, we haven't really talked all that much about what happened at Galatea and Derricks place. I mean, their parent's reactions were-"

"Totally unexpected," Helia finished. "But I guess that even having children these days requires an emotional detachment." Flora hadn't thought about it that way because her mother and father had always been extremely supportive and loving. But to have a child and tell yourself to remain distant until they are eighteen so that you won't be too overcome with grief when they went, it seemed wrong. She was sure that their parents had experienced a deep form of grief and held it together for the dinner; it was what they had been doing for the last two days after all.

"Would you ever want kids?" Flora asked and he shrugged his shoulders slightly.

"I don't know… I guess so, if we didn't have the games," he paused, looking for some sort of response in her eyes. "What about you? Do you want to have kids?"

"In the future I'd like them," she smiled. "But the games certainly make you wonder about whether it's a good move or not. I'd like a family, but all of that will have to wait until we get back home and figure out where we stand."

"What do you mean where we stand?" He asked. "You do still love me, right?"

"Of course I do," Flora answered, gazing into his eyes and holding one of his hands. "I just think that this tour is killing us inside." Helia wouldn't argue, he couldn't, he knew that she was right. Before the games his life had been completely different. But now that they had to lie and complete all these necessities of the Victory Tour they had grown apart. It wasn't that they hadn't spent enough time together, everything they did required the two of them to be present, but they hadn't talked like this for quite some time.

"I guess you're right," he agreed. "But you feel the same way that I do, right? So what is there for us to figure out?"

"A lot of things," Flora sighed. "Like whether this is just some kind of whirlwind romance or-"

"Wait a minute," he snapped. "'Whirlwind romance'? You're really calling what we have some kind of temporary thing?"

"I don't know what to think about it all Helia."

"You just said that you love me."

"And I do!"

"For now," he finished, watching the fire in her eyes dim. "You think that this is temporary don't you…that I'll or you'll move onto other things, other people when we get home." She didn't move, just looked to the floor and he pulled his hand from her grasp and sat on the bed, she followed, slouching next to him.

"I just…don't know why you love me." She admitted and he lifted his gaze to look at her.

"Flora-"

"No," she shook her head. "I feel like I'm holding you back and you deserve more than that."

"You aren't holding me back," he explained, sitting up and she placed a hand on his thigh making him grip it between his fingers. "Flora, I love you. You're incredibly smart, intelligent, loving and protective and its part of your protective nature to question whether what we have now will continue when we get home and I hope it does but if it doesn't then that's okay too." She felt his left hand under her chin, guiding it up so her tear filled eyes met his own.

"Flora, what's really going on?"

"I'm confused," she sighed, her voice quivering slightly. "I'm not sure about who I am anymore." Helia pulled her chin towards his own their lips kissing them lovingly as the salt from her tears touched their tongues. Flora closed her eyes, enjoying Helia's hand brushing through her hair as he continued their passionate and yet beautiful moment. When their lips detached he opened his eyes and she did the same. "You are my everything," he spoke.

A knock on the door interrupted the two as Faragonda looked at them. "It's time." Helia stood, pulling his jacket over his shoulders before taking Flora's hand and helping her to her feet. They walked through the door of the antique hotels hallways before disappearing from sight.

* * *

The two tributes walked hand in hand to their destination and Flora looked up to Helia for a moment and stopped walking. He continued one step forwards before feeling the lag on his arm and turned to see her, beautiful in the moonlight.

"What's wrong?" He asked and she walked towards him, placing her hands on his shoulders and stealing a kiss on his cheek. "What was that for?"

"For just being you," she answered and he looked a little confused. "Come on we better go or we'll be late." She raced forwards, pulling her young suitor closely behind. This time it was Flora that knocked on the door to the apartment where Darcy's family lived. Most of the town was made of tall skyscrapers that housed hundreds of people. Helia, for some strange reason, didn't feel like throwing up in the corner. He didn't feel the way he had before and wasn't sure whether it was because of Flora's support of the ten flights of stairs they had to walk up because the elevator was broken in the lobby.

The door opened to reveal a crippled woman with long light purple hair. She had brown eyes and offered them a meek smile before using her cane to adjust her position in the door and welcome them inside. It wasn't at all what they expected; the house was quite homey, beautiful even. On the walls were photographs of Darcy growing up and she smiled in all of them. "Please take a seat," she instructed and they did so before she walked carefully to her sink and lifted a tray of assorted cheeses. Trying to make it back to the table Helia stood and took the tray from her hand and she mumbled a quiet thank you before finally sitting down.

Flora looked at one particularly happy photo behind their hosts head and she smiled slightly. "Not exactly what you expected is it?" Flora returned to the present and with a smile nodded.

"But we only learnt a little about the others who went into the arena with us," she explained. "We didn't really know them at all."

"I suppose you were expecting a dark home full of death and tragedy," she pointed out. "That was what Darcy portrayed in the arena, did she not? She was dangerous, but a good tribute in the eyes of Magix."

"I wasn't sure what to expect," Helia replied, looking to his hands for a moment and she noticed his hesitation to speak. "I cannot begin to understand what it would have been like," she spoke, making him lift his head. "To see both of those young tributes slaughtered before your eyes, they were your friends were they not?"

"They were," he nodded. "I wish everyone could have made it out alive."

"I'm sure we all do as well," she offered a kind smile before cutting into the cheese and passing them some pieces on crackers. "My name is Minerva by the way. I'm afraid that my daughter and I were not on good terms when she left," she admitted and they both wondered the cause but were too courteous to ask.

"You see-"

"You don't have to tell us," Helia interrupted. "I'm sorry for interrupting you but you don't need to explain anything to us." Minerva placed the knife down and looked to Flora and then back to the young man.

"I do…because you are right about only knowing some of the hidden details about the other tributes and, as your speech states, I would like you to remember them for different reasons. I don't want you to remember Darcy as some kind of sadist murderer but as a young woman with a conflicted heart."

Flora took a sip of the glass of water on the table, listening intently as she did. "When Darcy was drawn from the reaping bowl I knew that I had to tell her the truth about her father. He was a young, strong man, and we were in a relationship that he decided to take too far." Minerva looked to the ground as tears slowly filled her eyes, though she managed to blink them away before they fell. "He raped me and when I told him I was pregnant he left. I told Darcy when she was young that her father had died, which was true, he passed away soon after in a workplace accident and that was the end of the terror." Her gaze lifted. "I was planning on telling Darcy the truth after her eighteenth birthday but the odds obviously weren't in our favour."

Flora wondered how many parents had promised their children something when they turned eighteen, how many of them promised a car, bike, money, or a family secret. And how many had never received that chance, to be told the truth, to understand the past. "So I told her before she left and she was obviously mad. And that was the last time I saw her in the flesh, and she changed on screen. I knew that she was just trying to survive, you all were, but I think that the full force of her never seeing her father hit her when she realised that she was a child of rape."

"Why didn't you abort?" Helia questioned. "I'm not trying to be rude I'm just curious, surely you would have known what kind of life she would have, with the District Games and everything already in place."

"Yes I did," Minerva answered. "I knew that the possibilities of her being chosen were there but aborting Darcy felt like a mistake and I thought that if Darcy was never picked then at least I wouldn't be alone for the rest of my life. And she," she smiled. "She brought so much joy to my life."

The two victors sat quietly, watching the woman lose control of her grief. Her shoulders shuddered, tears escaped her eyes and cries escaped her throat. Flora got to her feet and moved around to where she sat and gave her a shoulder to cry on while holding her back. She had never, in all her wildest dreams, seen or thought of Darcy as a daughter. But that's what they all were. Every tribute in that arena was someone's daughter, someone's son.

Collecting herself she apologised to Flora and the rest of the evening went smoothly until their departure. Quietly the two walked back to the ship, ready to board it and be catapulted to the next district. "Helia," she sighed and he looked to her beautiful green eyes.

"Yeah?"

"I wish we could do more, to help these people." He nodded.

"So do I, Flora…so do I."

* * *

Helia had been sleeping peacefully that night, or at least more peacefully than he usually did. He had only woken up twice because of nightmares and had just managed to return to sleep when Bloom burst into this door and turned on the light. "Helia!" She yelled, shaking him vigorously.

"What?" He asked, sitting up, his bare chest and back glistening in the light as he squinted and rubbed his eyes with his fists.

"It's Flora…she's-" Bloom didn't have time to finish before he heard a scream.

* * *

**AN: Thanks for reading and please review :)**

_Response to Anonymous Reviews:_

Fennyfuzz: Thanks for the review, I hope that this story will be as good as the first but we will just have to wait and see, lol great minds think alike ;)


	5. The Terror of Trauma

**AN: Thanks everyone for the reviews, I really appreciate you taking the time to tell me your thoughts on the sequel thus far. There will be about two more chapters posted next week and then I return to studies so updating time will be slim if non-existent. I apologise in advance and will try and update as often as possible but my studies come first :) Enjoy.**

* * *

**Chapter 4**

_**The Terror of Trauma**_

"It's Flora…she's-" Bloom didn't have time to finish before he heard a scream. Flinging the sheets off his legs he ran in his pyjama pants to her room. His breath caught in his chest when he saw her. She was shivering, her forehead was beaded with sweat, her body shaking uncontrollably as screams and shrieks broke through the confines of her lips and into the quiet night.

"Turn the light off," he ordered to Bloom before kneeling in front of her. Bloom did, she turned the lights off and watched Helia place two hands on either side of her face. "Flora. It's Helia; open your eyes for me." Her face scrunched with pain before he turned to the red-haired Avox. "Get me a cloth of cool water and a basin." She did as she was told, running into Flora's bathroom and moistening a towel. Helia took it into his hand and brushed it against her face, wiping slowly around her forehead before doing the same on her neck and she seemed to relax.

"I tried to wake her but she just wouldn't," Bloom explained and he nodded his head.

"It's okay, I'll stay with her - you should get some rest."

Bloom left the nature fairy inside Helia's highly capable hands. He took another blanket from the cupboard and made sure she was lying on her side. Her cries continued throughout the night and the following morning Helia was dead on his feet. He had spent the entire night by Flora's side and was happy to see her sleeping peacefully after the fever broke.

Faragonda walked in the door and Helia placed a finger to his lips to signal quiet before stepping outside and closing the door behind him.

"What happened?"

"I think it was a panic attack," he replied, "probably brought on by an unpleasant dream." Faragonda sighed slightly before looking the tired man in the eye.

"You should get some sleep; I'll keep an eye on her for you."

"Do you think she'll be okay?" He asked and Faragonda placed a hand on his upper arm before licking her lips silently for a moment and speaking. "Trauma is something that affects people differently. I know you have both been having nightmares but it sometimes manifests in another form. The brain has the magnificent ability to make the body feel things that are not really there and Flora's fever was probably a build up of emotions that made her physically ill."

"How long will she…I mean we…have to deal with this?" He asked and Faragonda remembered the dejected look in his face. The tired bags under his red eyes, the spark that indicated life almost completely faded. She knew all too well what it felt like and Helia could see the recognition and pity in her eyes. He wasn't sure how much longer they could deal with this and the victory tour wasn't allowing them to properly process the events of the past or those of the future. The only thing that Helia was sure of was that he loved Flora with all of his heart and she held the same feelings for him.

"Everyone handles trauma differently. And Flora and your own post traumatic stress reactions are going to be very different and I am not sure how long they will last."

"How long did it take you?"

"Three years," Faragonda replied and Helia's eyes widened in surprise. "Don't look at me like that. It was hard, and, as previous victors can contest, suicide is always a possibly, but I didn't want to give the Ancestral Witches the satisfaction." There was another reason but Helia wasn't sure what it was so he didn't push for details. "I didn't have anyone to help me through it, the first one to win the games doesn't have anyone else to guide her path or help her understand. But you are lucky enough to have Flora and she has you." He took a long breath into his lungs and Faragonda adjusted her glasses, taking her hand away from his arm and putting it on the doorknob to Flora's room. "And if you love her then you'll go and get some rest and leave her to sleep. The last thing she needs is to wake up and see you looking like this."

He nodded before walking to his room and closing the door.

* * *

When Flora opened her eyes it took a while for them to focus. Her pillow felt wet and her body felt sticky. "Morning," Faragonda greeted, stepping to the bed and taking a seat on the edge. "How are you feeling?"

"What happened?" she asked, groaning as she placed a hand to her beating head.

"A nightmare gone wrong," Faragonda explained. "Bloom tried to wake you but she couldn't so Helia stayed with you all night."

"All night?" She shrieked. "He must be exhausted."

"He is," Faragonda sighed. "I've sent him to get some rest before the speech this afternoon and your visit to Musa's." Flora sighed audibly with exhaustion. "Just two more to go after this one and we're on the home stretch."

"I feel like I've been on the homestretch for the last six months."

"We'll be there soon, just a few more days to go. After your visits with Musa and Rose you have a straight run to district four and then another to Magix."

"How is Helia doing?" She asked making her mentor smile.

"I'm afraid, my dear, you'll have to ask him that yourself."

* * *

Flora sat on the stage with Helia by her side, they were used to the silence, to the very lack of a welcome but this was different. Flora already knew about Musa's past, about what happened to her mother and then her father. She wondered how many of the young men her age were involved in his murder, how many stood here looking high and mighty when they had committed, what she considered to be, one of the most heinous crimes and ultimate sins. Her eyes surveyed the crowd, searching for something, anything to give her a clue but there was nothing.

Finally they were called to the microphone and addressed Jared's family and DuFour who represented Musa. When Helia did his half they proceeded back to get changed and before they knew it they were standing on the young mentors welcome mat. Helia lifted his fist and knocked and she opened the door, greeted them nicely and offered them a seat.

The awkward silence that Flora and Helia were becoming accustomed to surrounded the room instantly before Flora decided to initiate some kind of discussion. "Musa told me what happened to her family," she sighed. "Did you know about that?"

"Yes," she nodded. "Everyone knew that her mother was sick, they had a list of those who were dying in the papers everyday when the supplies stopped. I knew her family well, I was close friends with them - we were neighbours."

"And what about when her father was…you know," she didn't want to say the word and DuFour simply nodded her head. "I heard the rummage and was worried about getting hurt myself so I waited until the guys had left the house before going in. Musa was just a little girl then, a scared little girl without any family. I looked after her for a little while but I was just a teenager, in no way capable enough of looking after her long term. So Jared's family took her in." She looked back at the two and smiled a little. "The saddest part about it all was that Musa's family paid the price for the district's decision to rebel and Musa paid the ultimate one by being called into the arena."

"What do you mean?" Helia asked.

"You don't think that these reaping's are really all that random do you?" She asked and they both exchanged a glance between themselves. "Morgana won in the games third year, that was twenty two years ago. At the age of eighteen, she got pregnant and had a child when she was twenty. Her babies name was Roxy."

"Roxy?" Flora asked. "You mean Roxy from earth, from the games?"

"Yes," she nodded, leaning back in her chair and crossing her arms. "Roxy was chosen for the arena just like many after her."

"What do you mean?" Helia asked. "Who else was there?"

"Do you remember Stella? She is the offspring of Radius and Luna. Radius won one year before Luna did and the two spent a lot of time together. She became pregnant, had a baby girl and Stella was sent into the arena just like Roxy was."

"Wait a minute," Helia stopped, leaning forwards. "You're saying that these reaping's in the districts are already pre determined?"

"Some of them," she sighed. "Not all of them, but most, especially when it comes to previous victors children being sent into the arena, as some kind of sacrifice. In a way I think it's a control mechanism." Flora sighed leaning back and Helia looked to her eyes, shining with realisation.

"If you defy us as victors and we'll send your children to their deaths," she replied and DuFour nodded slowly.

"Exactly."

"I suppose it's another reason to put off having children," Helia explained and Flora couldn't help but agree. The very threat of the reaping's each and every year was enough to deter others from having children but for victors it was even worse. One false move and her own blood family could pay the price for her mistake. Faragonda already warned her that Miele and Lily could be in danger if they did something hasty as punishment for their misdeeds but the thought of the children that had grown inside herself for so long, that she had guided through life, being plucked away and killed in the arena was enough to scare her away from having them at all.

The evening ended after a scarcely touched meal and they were loaded onto the ship once more.

* * *

Helia lay down his head before turning onto his side and reaching for his notebook and pen. He wrote line after line until his fingers ripped the page from his book and he folded it. Getting to his feet he walked to Flora' door and slid the piece underneath.

Flora had been sitting on the bed at the time, wondering about what DuFour said when she saw it. Getting to her knees she picked it up and 'it's ready'. She smiled before flipping the paper open. 'Open the door'.

Standing to her feet Flora placed her hand on the doorknob and expected to see Helia standing there with a grin on his face, holding his book in his hands ready for her to read over and offer comment on. But what she did see, when the door creaked open, wasn't what she expected. In fact it was entirely the opposite.

* * *

**AN: I know another cliff-hanger, I'm sorry but they just keep on happening. The next chapter will be up soon :) thanks for reading and please review.**


	6. Home Is Where The Heart Is

**AN: Hi everyone, thank you all for the reviews and support :) this chapter probably contains the Victors Visit you have all been waiting for, Roses. I'd just like to mention that the character Lutina in this story comes from Roxy Fan 4 Evers story **_**Fighting Through the Darkness **_**where Rose is also from.**

* * *

**Chapter 5**

_**Home Is Where The Heart Is**_

"Helia!" Flora screamed, plummeting to his side and turning him over, his poetry notebook falling to the floor as she did so. She placed her hand to his head; he was burning up, badly. She didn't know what caused it or why it had happened so suddenly but she needed to get some help. Bloom burst through the door with Daphne by her side.

"Bloom," Daphne addressed. "Go wake Faragonda." She did, she bolted out of the main door towards the mentors quarters. They were in mid-flight, on their way from Melody to Gaien and only Faragonda could organise an emergency landing if they needed one.

"What happened?" Daphne questioned, turning him onto his side in the recovery position and checking his breathing. It was regular but fairly shallow.

"He gave me this note and asked me to open the door and when I did I found him like this." She explained as Faragonda and Bloom rushed in through the door to Flora's right. Fara knelt next to them and assessed the situation before looking to Bloom. "Tell the pilot to call Gaien's control centre and organise a doctor to come aboard when we land."

"How bad is it?" Flora asked, seeing fear inside Faragonda's normally wise and strong eyes. "What is it?"

"I'm not sure, Flora. But he'll need medical attention." She explained. "Daphne, help me bring him to his bed please." Daphne and Faragonda helped to support his body while Flora helped lower his head onto the pillow. "Flora you need to go and get some rest," Faragonda explained. "You still have the speech and your visit tomorrow."

"He stayed with me," she sighed, taking his hand in hers. "When I was sick and having trouble he stayed with me. I'm not going to leave him."

"Flora, listen to me," Faragonda urged, taking the fairy's shoulders into her hands. "We can handle this, it's very different to what you were suffering from and if he doesn't improve tonight or when we land in Gaien then you might have to do this leg of the tour yourself."

"What? No! I can't do it by myself," she refused.

"Yes you can," Faragonda replied, moving her towards the door as Daphne placed a cool cloth over his forehead to try and ease his discomfort. "Now get some sleep. We'll see you in the morning." The door closed in Flora's face and she turned around to see the book. Bending down and wiping a stray tear from the corner of her eye she walked to her room, closed the door, lay down on her bed and stared at the cover. He had told her that it was ready for her to read but it still felt like she was prying. It felt like a little girl, looking in their sister's diary to read all their secrets, but it wasn't like that at all. Forcing her shaking hand she opened the front and read the first page. 'For Flora. This collection of poems has been written for the purposes of documenting the emotional turmoil of tributes sent into the arena and of those who survive. Based on the events and lives of Helia and Flora from District Twelve, victors of the 24th annual District Games.'

She flipped the second page, then the third through poem after poem after poem, each one just as beautiful and harrowing as the last. It was a continuum from the reaping to their win and all the small details in between. But it was the last poem, the one that he had written just after their visit with DuFour called Children Who Cry that made Flora's heart physically ache.

Children who cry  
Shed tears on their mothers arms  
Possibly the last tears they will ever shed  
The world is quiet  
A pin could drop  
And the only ones who can stop this  
Are powerless  
The victors  
Should a single foot go wrong  
Are punished for eternity  
Like an endless irritating song  
Just one wrong glance  
A word  
A stare  
A breath  
And all will be forgotten  
In their child's dying breath  
Why does it happen  
How can it do  
That all this is happening  
What can I do  
But play their game  
And sing their tune  
With quiet mutterings  
To the full moon  
I lay in bed and wonder why it is so  
That I should live a lie  
Rather than die a cut throat  
Revealing truths that others dare not speak  
Dare not utter and dare not weep  
This I'm afraid is all part of life  
Where adults pray to the sky  
And children cry

It spoke volumes about their plight and made Flora wonder whether the poems would change over time. Would they be more about beauty than tragedy, more about love than hatred? She softly closed the book before putting her head on the pillow and holding it to her chest, though her mind could not rest.

* * *

When she opened her eyes the following morning to a knock on the door, Bloom entered with a smile. Flora sat up, opening the blinds by her window and she saw they had landed which made her wonder two things. Was this Gaien? And if not, why did they land?

"Helia's fine," Bloom explained, sitting next to her. "It was just dehydration. He hasn't been drinking enough water all week so he had a dizzy spell and collapsed. The doctors cleared him for the tour this afternoon if he rests properly all day and drinks plenty of water." Flora stood to her feet and got showered and dressed before taking his book and walking through the central hall to his room. She knocked before opening the door.

Helia sat up, a small smile tugging on the edge of his lips. He pat the bed beside him with his hand and she took a seat.

"How are you?"

"I'm fine," he replied, glancing down at the book held precariously between her fingers. "I'm sorry if I scared you."

"You did," Flora corrected, it wasn't a case of 'if'. "You really did."

"I'm sorry," he gushed, leaning closer towards her and going in for a kiss though Flora retreated by leaning away. He wasn't hurt but knew Flora had a reason for it. "What's wrong?"

"I read your book…it was beautiful." Helia looked confused.

"Then what's the problem?"

"I'm worried about you," she admitted, handing the book to his possession. "I'm worried that what you've written will get you into trouble."

"It's only the truth," he defied.

"Yes," Flora agreed. "But the truth is not something that the ancestral witches want to hear, see or read." He understood it all now, her reaction to his touch, her sudden quietness, her deterring focus.

"Flora, look at me." She did. "I won't do anything that will get me killed or that will put you in danger."

"I know," she sighed. "But by looking after me you made yourself sick. You've been so wonderful to me and I haven't been able to repay you."

"You don't have to. But if you really want to…" he teased, placing a few fingers underneath her chin and pulling her closer. "You could kiss me."

The sound of someone's throat clearing made the two turn and see Faragonda standing at the door.

"I see you're feeling better Helia, Flora's bed side manner must be doing wonders." The two blushed. "I think it's time he got some more rest, don't you?" Flora nodded before giving him a small peck on the cheek and walking past their mentor to have her breakfast.

Faragonda stepped inside the room and closed the door behind her. "I am just going to say this so that it's out in the open," she paused. "Don't hurt her. I know that you are good and kind but she is the same and I don't want you to hurt her, is that clear?" Helia nodded. "Good. Get some rest; you have four hours until you need to be dressed and ready for your victors visit." She turned though paused at the door before leaving. "And do me a favour… look after yourself, if what happened in here last night happened on stage we would all be in trouble, including Flora." He nodded with understanding before she left.

* * *

When Flora and Helia arrived at Rose's home for their victors visit, they were nervous. Rose had been one of the blood thirstiest tributes of the games, her interactions against Flora and her multiple killings made her memorable and she was the tribute that frequently made visits in the young fairies dreams. But they had no idea that the life she had lead inside the arena was so very different from the one she lead at home.

The door opened and it was only when they heard a little voice near their feet that they saw her. "Hi," she smiled from ear to ear, an unexpected expression for the two.

"Hi," Flora replied.

"Come on in." She led the pair into their main dining room where there were four others. The young girl who escorted them inside pointed to another sister who looked to be about ten years old. "This is my older sister Violet," she waved and Flora admired her long deep purple hair. "My twin sister Talula and that's Damien." Her introduction stopped and Flora wondered who the other older girl was but the young one didn't offer an explanation.

"My name is Lutina," she introduced. "Storm can you take Damien and give him a feed." The young girl sighed a little before she took him in her arms and the other two girls followed. "I'm sorry," she replied, walking closer and extending her hand. Helia took it in his own and gave it a shake before Flora followed. "Please take a seat."

"Your siblings don't seem to like you very much," Flora noted and Lutina nodded.

"Yeah, I'm actually not related to them by blood but take time out to look after them."

"How generous," Helia smiled but she didn't reflect it in her own face.

"It's a difficult situation. Rose was the one who used to look after them; she took over after her parents died. But then she was picked at the reaping-" she paused, visible tears in her saddened eyes. "The reason they hate me is because I told Rose that if she was chosen at the reaping I would volunteer for her." Flora's heart physically ached for her. She didn't know that some people had made promises like that to others. She didn't have one for Miele because she was sure that she would never be chosen. But maybe there were others who had made these plans, assessed which children deserved to live inside a district and had plans put into place. She wondered whether the reason Brandon had volunteered was because of a promise to Sky.

"But you didn't… did you?" Helia asked and she nodded.

"I just couldn't, my voice stuck in my throat, I couldn't say the words…Rose hated me before she left, told me that I had condemned her brother and sisters to death because without someone to work and put food on the table they were going to starve. I told her that I was scared but it didn't make a difference." She smiled slightly before licking her lips. "We used to be best friends and, before I knew it, she gave me a death threat." Helia and Flora didn't voice their questions but they must have been inside their eyes because she began to explain.

"Before she left she told me to watch what happened inside the arena because she would do twice as worse to me when I got back… but she didn't come back, which should be a blessing but these kids miss her so much." Lutina looked to the floor before looking back to Flora's eyes. "I just…I thought that if I stayed and helped them it would be a kind of way to repay her for what I did, or didn't do-" Flora leant forwards, placing her hands over the young girls.

"I didn't know what Rose was like before she went into the arena but I'm sure that if she was still here and she could see what you've been doing to help these kids, she'd be proud."

"Thanks," she smiled before wiping her eyes and standing to her feet. "Now, what can I get you both for dinner?"

"Anything," Flora replied, before turning to Helia "as long as it comes with a glass of water."

* * *

**AN: Thanks for reading and please review :)**


	7. The Quarter Quell

**AN: This will be the last update for the next few weeks, the semester for study is starting again so updating time will be slow at best. I apologise in advance and ask for your patience and understanding. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far.**

* * *

**Chapter 6**

_**The Quarter Quell**_

District five had been and gone and now it was time for their final Victors Visit. Helia sat at the breakfast table, forcing himself to eat and drink juice and other liquids while Flora sat opposite him. "Hey," he addressed and she lifted her head. "Remember our deal; I'll look after myself if you do the same." She nodded before stabbing a piece of fruit and bringing it to her lips. With breakfast out of the way they were lead towards the stage for their final address and only one family member stood at the foot of the stage. It was Mirta and Riven's father. Halfway through their address another young woman stood next to him. She was about the same age Mirta had been when she entered the arena and had long dark green hair that flowed down her back. She wondered who she was for a moment but said nothing as they were escorted to their home.

The house loomed in the distance and they had to travel by car to reach the main gates and beyond. Acreage surrounded the two as they made their way there and were brought inside and told to sit. Their last visit was the most awkward of them all. Their father never said a word and they didn't know what to say in return. Helia's offerings of 'you have a lovely home' and 'it's a warm day outside' received no response.

"I don't understand," he finally mumbled, making both silent tributes meet his unfocused gaze. "I don't understand…why. Why this had to happen. Why these games even exist…why both of my children are gone." It was the same question that all of the families of those who died asked and one that would never be answered. Instead of the long talk that Flora hoped to have with him about his children he had the opposite effect. Though he did say thank you for being with both of them when they passed away that was where the discussions stopped. The two victors left their lunch date early and started their final stretch to Magix.

* * *

To make up some lost time Flora and Helia were told to walk through the middle of town, they saw the Town Hall where the reapings took place, the mixture of country and city, production and farming, all of it intertwining together perfectly and the people surrounding them all had different gazes. Some showed compassion, others fury, but Helia's hand never left Flora's which helped her to feel secure when the environment they were in was the exact opposite. Suddenly they heard someone crying to their right at what appeared to be a catering facility of some kind.

Walking over Flora placed her hand on the girls shoulder and she wiped her tears. "I'm sorry," she apologised, her long deep green locks reached her back and she wore the same gothic style that Mirta had. A short skirt with leggings down to ankle high boots with a top, necklace, black lipstick and green eye shadow. "Don't apologise," Flora sighed as Helia removed a tissue from his jacket pocket and she passed it to her. It was then that Flora realised who she was. It was the girl who stood next to Mirta's father during the speeches.

"I'm Lucy," she introduced making Flora and Helia both shake her hand gladly.

"Is there somewhere that we can talk?" Flora asked and she nodded and guided them to an old picnic table out the back of the shop and took a seat. "You were standing with Mirta's father during the speech," she noted and Lucy nodded her head. "Why?"

"Mirta and I were best friends," she smiled sadly. "We used to work here together; we went to school together, were considered outcasts by our various friends and only had each other really. But Mirta and I had fallen out a long time before she went; we disagreed on a lot of things. Most of it relating to her charity work, this business would have gone under a long time ago if it wasn't for her."

"What do you mean?" Helia inquired.

"Mirta started using the reapings for cash, I mean putting her name in there more times for food which she'd give to the business so they could stay afloat. A few other workers did the same but Mirta did it the most. I told her that it was dangerous but she managed to go twice without getting picked so she thought that she would be safe a third time…but she wasn't." She looked to the table, her head hanging in shame. "You know there is this saying 'you don't know what you have til it's gone' and it's true. I had a real friend, an honest friend who was just trying to do her best and look at what happened? We argued about something that seems so meaningless now." She paused. "I guess the real reason that I didn't want her to help so much was because she's all I have…and I didn't want to lose her."

"That's understandable," Flora acknowledged.

"Lucy!" A head ducked out from the backdoor. "We need you in here, lunch rush."

"Coming!" She called back. "I'm sorry I need to go."

"Wait-" Flora interrupted, standing to her feet as Lucy did. She fished the slingshot from her pocket and passed it forwards but Lucy pushed it away. "No, I can't take that."

"Yes you can," Flora urged, pushing it in her direction again. "Mirta gave this to me; it's supposed to protect you and those you love from harm. Riven gave it to Mirta and Mirta gave it to me and I am sure that she'd want you to have it." Tears broke their banks as she wrapped her arms around Flora's shoulders. "Thank you."

* * *

Three districts came and went so quickly that they barely registered inside Flora's mind and when they reached Magix and were forced into a dining hall with other officials and the three ancestral witches, both of them were a little nervous. Bloom and Daphne walked behind the two at all times before a young man with golden hair to his shoulders and beautiful blue eyes stepped forwards inside what appeared to be royal attire.

"My lady," he sighed, bending down and offering his hand before Helia walked to get them some refreshments. "It's a pleasure to meet a victor of this year's games." He smiled and looked to Bloom before inclining his head. "My name is Prince Sky of Erakleon, my father has been assigned the duty of game maker for next year's games."

Flora didn't understand how he could harbour such pride when his father was being forced to design a death trap that would get innocent children killed. "You and Helia did an amazing job, to overcome such adversity and do it together, it truly inspired the crowds."

"Yes well I suppose it would have," she smiled, still wondering about his true intentions. He walked closer to her and pulled up his sleeve to reveal a watch, gold in colour with Flora's rose pin at the centre. "I had this made especially for myself, based on your rose pin." Again he looked to Bloom and Flora wondered whether there was history between them or if she reminded him of someone. "Anyway I better get going, my father will need me, enjoy the party and, may the odds be ever in your favour." He walked away as Helia approached and passed her a drink.

"Who was he?"

"No one important."

* * *

Landing back in Linphea filled Flora and Helia with relief and joy. They bolted from the ship and into their family's arms as Faragonda watched proudly from behind. They had both done well during the victory tour, followed her advice and had been slowly beginning to heal and now they were free to live the rest of their lives here in district twelve. Or at least that's what they thought.

Six months after their homecoming Flora walked through the forest with Helia by her side. The two enjoyed the sunshine, the birds singing in the trees, the fresh air that filled their lungs. Their time at home had been wonderful and although both of them still suffered from nightmares and sweats they had remained strong throughout.

"My father used to bring me out here," she sighed as Helia's hand grasped her own. She looked up, hearing a bird singing sweetly in the trees. "I never knew your father, what was he like?"

"Mum said he was an adventurer," she laughed. "Always trying to find some new bird species or rare animal, he'd spend hours out here in the woods just thinking to himself or working. He used to take me here when the sun was setting and we'd watch it together before the stars came out and we named them one by one," she giggled a little. "One time I tried to count them and he told me it was impossible but I was too stubborn so I kept on counting."

"What happened?" Helia asked.

"I fell asleep," she laughed, a bright smile widening her lips. "He carried me home, put me in bed and left a note the following morning that said 'told you'. He always used to make me laugh and Miele, well she was only a young girl when he died, she didn't get to know him as well as I did but he loved us and mum."

"I'm sorry," Helia sighed, as she looked him in the eye.

"Please don't apologise, it was a long time ago now, I just remember him when I come here."

"No I'm sorry because of this," he stopped walking and pushed a branch out of their way to reveal a picnic rug laid out in a clearing with a basket and glasses, ready and waiting for the two of them. Flora's mouth dropped as he led her through and she looked to the sky, closing her eyes as the sun rained down on her skin. "Why are you sorry about this?"

"I didn't want to upset you," he admitted. "I should have thought before I did this."

"No, it's beautiful, don't apologise."

"Take a seat," he ordered and she did as he fished a bottle of wine and poured two glasses. Flora took one and he sat next to her, taking the other and sipping it. "It's so different," he noted.

"What is?"

"This forest, it's the home to animals and almost protects everyone in district twelve. The arenas version, well it was the opposite." Flora swallowed another sip before nodding her head.

"Yeah." Helia stood to his feet suddenly before he offered her a hand up. "Flora," he spoke, looking deep in to her eyes. "I know that we haven't known each other all that long but it feels like it's been a lifetime." She nodded before Helia knelt before her. Her eyes widened as he removed a ring from his pocked and held it between his fingers. She nearly dropped her wine glass and had to forcefully stop herself from shaking. "Flora…will you marry me?"

Helia had been right, it had only been a few months since they met, a few days or weeks in the arena and recovering, but she already cared for him more than words could describe. They had both been through hell and back together, worked through the toughest of their demons, fought against the odds though they were not in their favour and made it home in one piece. And now they had the opportunity to start again, to live their lives free of the arena, to start a new and they could do it together.

"Yes," she replied after what felt like hours making Helia smile at the weight lifted from his shoulders. He carefully slid the gold band on her finger and it was the perfect size.

"How'd you get my ring size?"

"Your mother," he smiled, standing to his feet before Flora's lips pressed against his own. He took her waist into his hands and pulled her closer to him, deepening their passionate expression of love. When she leant backwards and Helia opened his eyes they dazzled with a new life, a new spark of hope and of the future and the way he was looking into her own must have indicated the same. "I love you, Flora." She kissed his lips again before replying.

"And I love you."

* * *

The announcement of their engagement brought cameras from the far corners of the other districts, all of them wanting the latest scoop and Faragonda was hired to handle the press scandals. They had only been engaged three months before a magazine had started spreading rumours about their break-up but it was all false. Though Helia had reasoned that they should live apart until they married Faragonda had told them that their marriage should be a public event to bring the crowds together for some joy and celebration but it didn't happen. Time had flown and the next reaping for the twenty-fifth annual district games was about to begin so all of the public interest in their engagement died down to make way for advertising in Magix and, with Miele starting to fret and panic as she did the year before she told Helia that they should wait until the reaping and the next games were over, at least then to bring some joy back into District Twelve, if they lost everything this year including their additional supplies. He agreed but that night on the television screen it wasn't just their wedding plans that were put in jeopardy.

Whether the screen was off or not they all buzzed to life suddenly, the three witches appeared on screen as Avalon's voice boomed through the district. "Attention all citizens, attention all citizens." Flora stopped washing the dishes and looked to the screen as Miele and Lily walked from upstairs. Helia stopped drying before looking himself as Faragonda ran inside the front door with Saladin closely following.

"As a celebration and to mark the twenty-fifth year of the games we have decided to host a Quarter Quell."

"What's that?" Miele asked, quickly hushed by Lily who placed her supportive hands on her shoulders.

"The Quarter Quell will occur every twenty five years, announcing a change inside the current games rules as predetermined by random selection from this box." Avalon walked to the witches and held the box before them and the three chanted the box open before a single slip hovered in mid air. It floated to his hand and he looked to the camera, swallowing the saliva in his mouth and nervously pulling on his shirt collar. "This year, as a reminder to those who fought against their superiors in the districts and who survived, this years tributes will be drawn from their current pool of victors." The dish in her hand smashed on the floor as her heart stopped beating in her chest.

"One male and one female victor will be drawn from each district to participate, should a district find itself without a victor of either or both genders, usual reaping procedures are to be followed. Should a district only have one victor of either gender or both genders then they must compete." Avalon looked to the camera before taking a breath and speaking again. "That is all, good night and may the odds be ever in your favour." The screen turned itself off and no one said a word.

They were going back into the arena.

* * *

AN: Thanks for reading and please review :) we are slowly nearing where the prologue started.


	8. Shattered

**AN: Thanks everyone who has reviewed etc. I really appreciate it. I know that I said it would be a few weeks before the next update but the very day before I return to study my creative side exploded. Not sure how long it will be until the next chapter is up but I hope you enjoy this one.**

* * *

**Chapter 7**

_**Shattered**_

The world had seemed so bright. She was engaged to a man that she loved with all her heart, she was home with the family she sacrificed in order to protect, and she had already imagined so many satisfying aspirations for the future. And it had all come crashing down around her in a cloud of dark ash, like her dream house and garden had been burnt before her very eyes and now lay as rubble at her feet. She didn't know what to do, where to look, but she knew that the others were looking towards her and Helia would be feeling the same way. She didn't even look at him before turning away and walking out the door and to the forest.

She didn't look back, or wonder why it had happened though the questions, she was sure, would come soon. All she did was wipe the tears from her eyes until she fell to her knees in the moonlight and let all her emotions fly.

An hour later she heard yells, people calling her name as lights dances through the bushes as she lay quietly on the ground. Miele and Lily walked towards her before putting their lamps on the ground. Lily lay down beside her daughter and looked into her eyes, hoping to see the spark of life and energy that had been rebuilding after so long but nothing was there."Flora, sweetie, can you hear me?" She was unresponsive, her eyes didn't meet her mothers, and her body remained stiff.

Miele's eyes filled with tears at the sight of her sister as a statue. She didn't even want to think about having to watch her sister in the games again. "Miele, go and get Bloom and Faragonda, we need to get her out of the cold." Miele nodded and ran and, two minutes later Flora heard their voices.

That evening there was a knock on her door and she saw Helia's face enter her room. He didn't smile or say a single word but made his way to her bed and she lifted the covers for him. He climbed in behind her before taking her waist in his hands and placing his head on the pillow. If he had asked the same question he had asked what felt like a lifetime ago 'what are you thinking?' she would have been completely honest in her reply. 'I'm thinking that we're going to die and I hope it happens fast.'

* * *

Rain poured from heaven and soaked all of those who attended the reaping in district twelve. It was still mandatory for all to attend and, although Flora knew she was going to die, she was at least happy that she didn't have to worry about Miele being chosen again or any other innocent child. She had killed, deserved to die in the first games, she had nearly killed herself with Helia by her side…if anyone deserved to go in a second time it was her, but it still didn't make it right.

The two roped off areas contained just three people. Helia stood alone on the boy's side while Flora and Faragonda stood at the other. Tarps and tents were the only thing protecting them from the downpour but the grass and dust around their feet had long turned to mud.

The two bowls on stage looked so empty and the entire thing seemed pointless. Helia looked to Flora but didn't offer a smile or a nod of approval he knew it as well as she did. This time they weren't coming home. After the mayors address the familiar lady in red walked to the boys bowl, deciding to break her tradition of 'ladies first.' She lifted the single slip of paper before her eyes and paused for unnecessary dramatic effect. After a moment she said Helia's name and he walked onto stage. Then she walked to the second bowl, placed her hand inside and circled twice before pulling one slip from the pair. It was Flora's name and she stepped forward to step on the stage.

The silence and disappointment in the faces of those below spoke volumes about what was happening. Flora's name was read aloud and she stood alongside her fiancé, wondering if this was what it had been like for Nabu and Layla from last year's games.

The two were lead away to the traditional apartment of goodbyes and Flora took a seat on the bed. This time she didn't shed a single tear or breakdown. She waited patiently for her mother and sister to say their goodbyes…their final goodbyes.

* * *

The door burst open and Miele gripped around her waist as Flora held her tight, tears flowed freely down her cheeks and her body shook uncontrollably. Lily was next to enter as the door closed behind her and she enveloped both of her daughters into her arms and held them together in silence. Not a word passed their lips for a good two minutes of their time together before Lily leant back and looked into Flora's eyes. "Flora…I love you and I believe in you."

"I can't survive this," she sighed honestly. "And you know it. You've seen enough games to know when a tribute has a chance; you know what the winners did to be where they are. You know that I don't stand a chance!"

"Yes I have seen a lot of them, but you and Helia did something none of them did. You stuck together, no matter what, you can do that again."

"But there is no guarantee that we'll come out alive." Lily's hands took Flora's face between them.

"I love you, and I am proud of you and your father would be as well and all I want for you is a life of happiness."

"I know," Flora answered as tears fell from Lily's eyes and rolled down her cheeks. "Because I love you too, both of you; and whatever happens I want you to be safe, look after yourselves, stay in contact with Faragonda and Saladin," she paused. "And promise that you'll remember me." Flora's eyes finally released their held tears as Lily cradled her head on her shoulder and supported her back.

"We will Flora, we will never forget you." It felt like she was speaking to her daughters coffin but Flora was still alive, before her. She was a prisoner on deaths row, receiving her final meal and visit before being taken to the gallows and hanged. Miele was a complete mess; she hadn't said a word since she got inside and clung to Flora so tightly her arms shook.

Flora knelt down, forcing her sister's grip to loosen. She took her rose pin from her pocket and handed it to Miele, forcing her fingers to close over it. "Here, I want you to have this." Her head snapped up. "No, you need this!"

"Miele-"

"No, it's good luck, it helped you get through the first games, and it will help you now." She returned it and Flora smiled slightly before the guard poked his head in. "One minute remaining."

"Miele…" she stopped, the words couldn't form in her throat, her lips wouldn't let them pass, these would be the last words she ever spoke to her sister, the last words she would ever utter and the final piece of wisdom she could offer. "Be strong, be proud, do well in school and do whatever mum tells you to do. Never fight with her and always remember me for what I am, not what you see on those screens." Miele nodded before Flora wrapped her arms around her sister again. Lily held the two once more before two guards opened the door and pulled them apart.

"I love you," Miele screamed, arms pulling her away to the door where she so desperately didn't want to go.

"I love you, Flora!" Lily cried. "Never forget that! I will always be proud of you!" The door slammed shut and silence filled the air. Wiping the tears from her eyes she stood near the door, waiting for them to open again. When they did she stepped out onto the wet ground, the clouds offering a reprieve by stopping their fall though each and every person standing before her were still soaked to the bone. She saw the awaiting ship and felt her chest heaving. She was prepared to turn around, run back into the room, barricade the door and stop this from happening. But she knew she had no choice. Turning to look to her right her eyes met that of Helia's whose emotions reflected their own.

He stepped first and she mirrored it, following each one by one, making contact with the saddened eyes of her district, of the people who loved and showed her kindness, of those who she provided for. Nearing where their two paths met she saw her mother holding Miele and she offered them a smile before taking Helia's hand in her own.

Slowly but steadily they made their way to the ramp and paused when they reached the top. The crowd gathered closer as storm clouds rained down below. Then Saladin interlocked his hand with Lily's and rose it high into the sky, just like they had done when they first went into the arena and others followed. One after another, each raised their hands into the sky, a silent tribute and salute. But this time it didn't mean good luck or goodbye, it meant thank you for giving us hope.

The ramp receded and Flora looked directly to Miele and nodded her head before the doors close and they rose. Through the window they watched the crowd shrink smaller and smaller before they were above the clouds and their vision disappeared entirely. This time Flora didn't hide her tears, her shoulders sobbed up and down as Helia wrapped his strong arms around her and held her tightly to his chest, his engagement band shining against the ships lighting. He closed his eyes and they stayed together in silence, taking comfort in each other's presence before their main door opened and Faragonda emerged.

"I…I'm so sorry."

"Don't apologise," Helia replied, opening his eyes to look at her though Flora was still against his chest. "You didn't cause this, we did…we broke their rules, made them change the game, this is our punishment, our death sentence."

"It doesn't have to be," Faragonda explained and that made Flora react. She leant away from Helia and stalked to the table, slamming her hands on the table. "Of course it has to be! Do you think the witches are going to just let us win again? After everything we did last time you expect them to be merciful?"

"No," she replied. "It will be hard, for both of you, but you have something to your advantage. You have each other and, being the most recent victors, means you'll have less retraining to do. Some of the other victors have let themselves go health wise, they will need to work harder during training in order to be prepared, you are both at the height of your health and fitness," she explained and it did make sense. Flora sank into a chair as Helia sat next to her and Faragonda removed her usual documents, placing them in front of the two.

"Because of the rule change we won't be focusing on volunteers as much as we did before but rather those who were reaped to replace a victor in the arena." She clicked her fingers and the room went dark as Bloom and Daphne entered the room and took a seat in the far corner to listen in. She clicked her fingers again as Helia started perusing the thick document before him and the face of a seventeen year old boy appeared. "This is Anagan," Faragonda explained. "The first one reaped to fill a position from district four, the next is Abrupto," the image changed again. "From downland."

"Does he specialise in anything?" Helia asked and she shook her head.

"No, he's pretty muscular and probably strong but doesn't have a speciality like Amentia did. The others are Ben from six, Chimera from seven and Glenn from nine, but there is another that we are yet to identify."

"What do you mean?" Flora asked. "Doesn't Magix know who they are?"

"No, it's just that none of the other mentors have seen him before and he is too old to be from the general reaping," Faragonda explained, clicking her fingers again as his image appeared on screen. "His name is Valtor, he's a wizard and that's about all we know about him. I am not sure of the strength of his powers."

"But healing magic will be banned from the arena again won't it?" Helia asked and she nodded her head solemnly.

"Yes. Though I have a feeling that he has been put inside the arena to serve a particular purpose that is still unclear. He would be a good one to keep an eye on inside the training centre sessions and to ask other mentors about." Helia took a pen from the table and wrote some notes.

"Most of the other victors have particular strengths or weaknesses that we can identify more in the coming days. We will have access to some tapes of their games so you will be able to see how they won, what their power levels etc. are though they will have grown considerably since they did win. From my information all of the fairies are at Enchantix level which is good and bad."

"How?" Helia asked.

"Although Flora has her Enchantix they have had more time to master its capabilities but, as you are both aware, magic is not the only thing that can help you win in the games." Flora looked to the floor as Helia took her hand in his own. "I think we've covered enough for now, you are both tired and need some rest. Bloom, Daphne." They stood to their feet as she ushered them towards the main door.

Faragonda collected her belongings before turning on her heel. "Do you need anything?" Helia shook his head and she left them to their devices once more. Flora didn't move, it was as if she had suddenly become numb. She didn't feel scared, or happy, or angry or sad, she just felt like the world had crumbled to tatters at her feet and all her hopes and dreams with it. Helia collected their information packs before placing a kiss on Flora's cheek. "Come on, let's get you to bed." She stood to her feet and stumbled slightly but Helia reacted in time to stop her falling. Carefully he helped her to her room and lay her down under the covers.

"Stay…please," she whispered and he nodded, putting the info packs on the night table before sliding in behind her and covering them both with the warm sheets. Helia's arms wrapped around her waist and she held his hands with her own, each one could feel the others engagement ring, a bitter reminder of a future they were destined to never have.

* * *

A knock on the door made Helia open his eyes as Bloom stepped in. "We've arrived in Magix." He nodded before she left again and he carefully woke Flora. At breakfast the two hardly said a word. "Tonight you have your interviews with Avalon," Faragonda reminded. "After we arrive Bloom and Daphne will get your clothes ready, you have most of the day to start your preparation and study of the other tributes."I know it must seem like there is no hope but unless you go into the arena positive you'll be picked off from the moment the first canon fires." Neither of them spoke in reply until Helia parted his lips. ""Hope is the worst of evils, for it prolongs the torment of man," he quoted from Friedrich Nietzsche before they arrived in the city.

Flora looked through the windows and saw the Magical Reality Chamber in the distance and swallowed the bile that threatened at the back of her throat. Faragonda may have told her that she would never have to walkthrough those doors again and she was correct. Once she stepped inside this time there was no coming back.

* * *

AN: Thanks for reading and please review :)


	9. Stand Up, Stand Out, Stand Together

**AN: I'd like to apologise for the delay. I have been incredibly busy and the creative half of my brain decided to pack it in. So I'm sorry but more delays will occur for the next two or so months until I can get a few things sorted out in the real-world but I promise, with all my heart, I will NOT give up on this fic! Or any others that I have started posting for. It might take a while for me to get them updated but they will be and I can't thank people enough for reading/reviewing/sticking with me through the delays. I re-read your comments all the time when I am stuck to try and get back into the BW headspace to write a new chapter for you and every little bit helps.**

**On a sidenote there are just two chapters until we pick up where the prologue ended *rubs hands with glee and laughs evilly* I hope that all this build up will be worth it. Because of this chapter 10, the official start to the games, will see a change in the stories rating from T to M. Remember to search for it using the correct rating filters 'M' or 'K-M' to find it or alert the story for updates.**

**Please read the ending authors note and enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 8**

_**Stand Up, Stand Out, Stand Together**_

Freedom. The simple word seemed cursed, forbidden, like some kind of hopeless dream that was always just out of reach - something that no one, from any of the districts, would ever be able to obtain. And yet it rolled around in her thoughts like a bizarre joke, replaying and replaying. All of the aspirations that she had for her future were gone now, and all she could think about was how the ceiling above her seemed higher than it did before, or that she hadn't noticed the little things before now. Like how much time and effort Bloom and Daphne put into their hair each morning, or how the table was set perfectly, how soft Helia's hands were or how the engagement ring on her hand felt like an empty promise.

"Flora?" Bloom spoke, stepping into the room. "It's time to get up." Flora didn't stir at first, she kept her focus on that one spot on the ceiling while thinking more and more about her mortality, how she would die in the arena, whether Helia would as well. What would she do without him?

"Flora."

"I heard you," she sighed, turning her head to the right to see Blooms sympathetic blue eyes reflect back. "Sorry…I just, wish none of this was happening."

"So do I," Bloom explained, taking a seat next to the nature fairy as she sat up. "But you know that Daphne and I are in your debt, whatever you need, we'll get it for you."

"You are not in my debt at all," Flora smiled a little. "If anything I should be thanking you, for being such a good friend."

"Ah uh, nope!" She burst, standing to her feet defensively making Flora's eyes open a little wider with surprise.

"What?"

"Don't start talking like that."

"Like what?"

"Like you're saying your goodbyes!"

"What… I'm just being honest!"

"I know," Bloom sighed releasing the tension from her shoulders as she did so. "But Faragonda's right. I know that this is difficult - I can't even imagine what you must be feeling - but you need to go in there strong, you can't show weakness in front of the other tributes and just give up."

"Why not?" She asked, after all it would be easier, just to stand on that pedestal or step off it early and end it there and then.

"Because sometimes the easiest road isn't necessarily the right one," Bloom explained, sitting back down and taking Flora's hand in between her own. "And since when have you been so ready to give the witches what they want? How I figure it…and this is just my opinion, is you should go out in a blaze of glory!" Flora chuckled a little. "I'm serious! Isn't it better to go out with a bang than a pop?"

"You know what's funny." Bloom shook her head. "I think all those years of muted silence has actually made you wiser."

"Words have a lot more meaning when you don't get to use them for a while," she smiled, standing to her feet and pulling Flora to stand with her. "Now come on, let's get you ready."

* * *

Helia sat at the breakfast table staring at the plate of food in front of him. He felt Faragonda staring into his soul and knew that he had to eat something but decided to wait until Flora came out of her room and for the queasiness in his stomach to pass before he did.

"Good morning, Flora." Faragonda smiled making Flora do the same before taking a seat and feeling Helia's hand reach for hers under the table. She took it into her hand firmly and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"Tonight you have your interviews with Avalon; I don't need to remind you of what happens though I received notification that they would like the two of you to have your interview together."

"Why?" Helia asked, glad that he could be with Flora to support her but worried about an alternative motive.

"I believe it's to ask you questions about your engagement, to try and stir public demand. It will work to your advantage I believe, though we will just have to wait and see. The good thing is that more information about your opponents have come to light and the betting agencies have, again, selected their favourites." She passed the two of them a series of folders, much thicker than their previous tributes, whose life achievements were only one or two pages long.

"This was everything we could dig up on all of your opponents; I've included videos from the games that they won which you can start watching today to learn more about their wins and strategies. Hopefully it will help you to see the correlation between when they won and whether they are focusing on the same skills in the training centre." Helia nodded before opening one folder and looking at the two supplied pictures. The one on the left was taken when they were first entered into the games and the one on the right was an updated version. It was incredible to see how far the victors had come.

"So who are the chosen ones?" Helia asked with a slight smirk.

"In district order it's Icy from district six, Valtor and Griffin from district eight, and you both."

"What!" Flora's eyes widened. "Why us?"

"They are making you targets, that probably explains why they want you to interview together, to build even more hype. The more favour you gain with the public and the higher your training scores-"

"The bigger target you are in the arena," Helia finished and Faragonda nodded solemly. Flora leant back in her chair, opening another folder and looking inside to see who would be the first to try and kill her. "We expected that this would happen, but it just depends on what the witches give you for your final training scores that will change your odds. I'm not saying do nothing inside the training centre, but you've both been painted with a target on your backs and no amount of failure will be able to get you away from it."

"Then what do you suggest we do?" Helia questioned. "If it doesn't matter what we do from now on then what do we do?"

"Play the game," Faragonda smiled. "It's simple, I explained to you last year that all you needed to do was to play the game right and you would do well. That is what you have to do. Give the audience something and they will give it back. It might just be the one thing that saves your life in the arena when the other hounds are hot on your trail and you're running out of options."

"How much do you know about Griffin, Valtor and," Helia paused, looking at the file. "Icy?"

"Valtor, is still a mystery," Faragonda explained, taking his file from the table. "I'm afraid we've no sources on who he is exactly or why he is in the games, though rumours are still circulating. Icy won the games two years ago, her speciality is ice magic and she has the ability to forge her own weapons using her magic, pretty handy inside the arena when she won by throwing an ice shard at another tribute and hit them in the heart. She's lethal - very dangerous - best to either get her on your side or to avoid her all together."

"What do you mean on-side?" Flora asked.

"Although last year you had an option about whether you would work with others this year you don't. Victors are all extremely dangerous and each have their own strengths. Plus, most of them are friends who have seen each other on tour or at every district game event, so they are most likely to travel in packs to take tributes out. I believe that they will target those who were reaped normally from their districts - they are easy to pick off one by one. Then the favourites will be next, and anyone who gets in their way to try and find you or Helia will be slaughtered."

"So who do we choose?" Helia asked.

"I'd recommend that you read this info first, but Icy is a good candidate, you can choose who you want to based on the training centre and how everyone does. Only pick those who you feel will be able to aid your needs and avoid the hard hitters from districts one, two and three. They have been some of the games oldest competitors and are likely to form their own hunting pack."

"I brought what you wanted Miss Faragonda," Bloom announced, walking into the front door with a box full of wires, the words 'DVD player' written along the side. "Good," she nodded, ushering her forwards to place it on the table. "But you need to be careful," Mrs F explained, looking into Bloom's cyan eyes. "I know that being able to talk is exciting but you need to remember when it is appropriate to use it." Bloom nodded before walking over to her sister who placed a hand on her shoulder for support, it was hard to stop themselves from screaming off the rooftops about their abilities to speak once more, but Faragonda was right, as usual.

Any sort of mishap would eventually fall on Flora and Helia's shoulders, and they had enough to worry about already.

"I'll leave the four of you to it," Mrs F explained, standing to her feet and walking through another set of doors and out of sight. "Well, who should we start with?" Helia asked, fishing through the DVD's provided and putting them into district order. "Oldest to youngest, alphabetical or district order."

"District order," Flora replied, watching Helia take Coda Torta's win from its casing as Daphne helped set everything up for the pair. With their files spread open on the table before them, pens, note pads and water supplied, the two tributes were left alone to hit play. The remote clung in Helia's hand but his thumb hesitated from pressing play. It had been bad enough, having to see their own games replayed back to them, let alone to re-watch other games and start taking notes. It all felt so wrong and yet so right. Right that they needed this information to survive, wrong that they needed to watch the slaughtering of children over and over again all day until the interviews that evening.

Flora's hand reached and folded over Helia's before she pressed the play button and the horror began. Video after video, death after death, canon blast after blast, it all played out on screen. They saw the differences between the older levels of the game to the newest ones, the improved technology, ideas and cornucopia supplies. Most of them included back packs of some kind though there was one game where none of them had a thing to eat for days. Plenty of them died of dehydration or starvation, not a particularly painless way to go.

* * *

They saw each victors battle, noted their emotions at the start and at the end, how their interviews had changed, how they had become more confident or broken. "We need to see how everyone does during the interviews tonight," Helia noted, turning a blank page in his note book, pressing stop on a dvd and standing to change it over.

"Yeah," Flora agreed, though her eyelids had grown heavy from the long movie session. Helia walked back to her side before kneeling in front of her. His soft hands took hers in them and she opened her eyes to see him. "It's going to be okay," he smiled. "I know you're nervous."

"Aren't you? All of the people we are watching have changed a lot since they were kids, some of this stuff might not be relevant."

"It will be," Helia explained. "People might change but at least it gives us an idea of their strengths and weaknesses." Flora nodded though she didn't look too convinced.

"Flora we won this thing once before, we could do it again."

"You know the chances of that happening are slim," she sighed. "But what Bloom told me this morning was right."

"What?"

"That we can't just take the easiest road because it seems the easiest." Helia smiled slightly.

"I have to agree with her. We can do this, together – no matter what happens we can overcome it together."

"I hope that's right," Daphne's soft voice spoke, catching the couples attention as she opened the balcony doors to reveal the sun setting in the distance.

"That time already?" Flora asked and she nodded.

"Yeah, Helia we've got to get you ready, Bloom has everything set up in your room, she had to sort something out for Mrs F but will be back in time to see you off." Flora nodded as Helia leant and kissed her cheek before walking to his room and closing the door.

* * *

Standing in front of the mirror inside her fabulous dark blue dress, Flora's fingers twisted her engagement ring when the door opened and Bloom stepped inside. "Well, doesn't someone look fabulous, and I know of a certain dark and handsome knight in shining armour who looks just the same," she beamed.

"He's not wearing a dress is he?" Flora asked making Bloom laugh.

"Of course not, my sister has excellent taste. Now everything is perfect except for one thing," she walked to the nightstand and removed Flora's flower pin before holding it forwards.

"Last time I tried to wear that you told me not to."

"Yeah…well…that was then and this is now," she smiled, carefully attaching it near her left shoulder and stepping back to admire her. "You look great but we better get moving or we'll be late."

* * *

Avalon was his usually happy and over enthusiastic self. He interviewed each tribute, one after another after another until it was time for Flora and Helia to take the stage.

Helia's hand gripped tightly into Flora's as they waited to be formally introduced. "Our next two tributes don't need much introduction really; they are the star crossed lovers from district twelve, and our most recent victors, Flora and Helia!" The crowd roared and the sound was incredible. Flora had never heard so many people calling her name before, not even when they had officially won the games last year, though even that victorious day seemed light years behind them. "Welcome!" Helia shook Avalon's hand as Flora was led to the couch and the crowd hushed. It was surreal, that such a sound could quieten so quickly. Flora could nearly hear a pin drop.

"First of all welcome and what an honor it must be for you to be able to represent your district for a second time," Avalon began.

'Honour more like horror' Flora reasoned quietly though she still smiled for the cameras. "Of course it's an honour, fighting for our families back home and for each other is what kept us going and to be able to bring hope back to district twelve is a blessing." The crowd released a collective sigh.

"Well of course, as you mentioned, there is the little issue of your engagement too. Tell me," he paused, looking specifically for a reply from Helia. "What does it feel like to have achieved so much success and happiness only for it to be all taken away?" The crowd remained silent and so did the two on the couch. "I mean there can only be one winner-"

"There's no need to worry about that at the moment," Helia replied, forcing a smile to his face. "What's truly important is for us to stick together, it worked for us once, and hopefully it will work for us again."

"Just two more questions for you both, the first is what do you think about this year's other tributes?" Flora decided to answer this time."They are all experienced professionals and we have our own individual strengths and weaknesses, but regardless of that we all have something in common; families to support, districts to provide for and, for most of us, the hope that we won this game once, and that we can do it again." The crowd clapped and Helia felt so much pride. Flora had been articulate, emotional and safe all at the same time.

"My final question is how does your family feel about you being here a second time?"

"Honestly," Helia replied, "it's something that they are worried about, as all people would be, because it's hard enough to compete and survive against the odds once let alone a second time."

"Well let's hope that the odds are in your favour for a back to back win from district twelve!" Avalon smiled as Helia stood and brought Flora to her feet. They interlocked their fingers and held them into the sky before being lead from the adoring crowd.

"Well that's it folks, this year's tributes, who will be the one to win the district games a second time? An older and wiser victor or popular romantic couple, either way it's sure to be one hell of a year! Good luck to all and may the odds be ever in your favour! Let the training begin!"

* * *

**AN: Thanks for reading and please review**

**Question:** **Which characters from the prologue would you like to see mentioned/featured inside the next chapter '_Training for Torture'_? Let me know through Review please :) I'm hoping that though updating time will be slim at least I can fend off the writers block with a little help from you guys.**


	10. Training for Torture

**AN: Thanks everyone who reviewed and who left suggestions :)**

**The next chapter will be the official start of the games! And will include a change of rating from T to M, please take note that you will need to change your filter systems to 'M' or 'K-M' to make sure the story shows up :) or alert the fic if you haven't already done so.**

**Please take note of all chapter warnings; they are there for a reason.**

**Warning: This chapter contains some violence, blood and adult themes. You have been warned.**

* * *

**Chapter 9**

_**Training for Torture**_

'Make an alliance', it was the only phrase rushing through Flora's head as she stood in line waiting to be served her breakfast. The other tributes were already sitting in their places and the groups had started forming. Just as Faragonda had predicted the tributes from districts one, two and three all sat together in a pack while most others sat separately or in their pairs. All except for Icy who seemed to distance herself from Benjamin at every chance she got. He had just started his impression of someone and she got to her feet and ignored the story and walked until she was next to Flora in line.

The Avox serving them placed Flora's fruit salad on the bench and she reached to grab it when Icy's hand extended and took it for herself. "Hey, that's mine," Flora warned, the room becoming quieter all of a sudden as the other tributes looked to them. Helia stood from his seat at their table, ready to defend if necessary.

"Yeah, I know," Icy replied with a smile before rubbing her index finger and thumb together until they created a thin ice toothpick which she ploughed into a piece of apple and then into her mouth. The pick disappeared as she smiled with a satisfied 'crunch' of fruit between her teeth. "You have excellent taste."

The ice queen pivoted on her heel and sauntered back to her place as Flora turned to see a newly prepared bowl waiting for her. "Thank you," she smiled to the Avox who nodded her head slightly and offered a small smile.

"What was that about?" Helia asked, sitting back down as Flora did the same with breakfast in tow.

"I have no idea," she admitted, her eyes looking over her shoulder as Icy gave her a wink and smirking.

"I do," spoke a voice from Flora's left. She turned to see the young man from district four standing with a tray of breakfast commodities between his hands and taking a seat. "She likes you."

"What?" Flora asked.

"She likes you," he smiled, taking a good bite from a juicy red apple and munching. "I mean," he continued, mouth full. "Not in a lovey-dovey kind of way, that's what lover boy here is for, right?"

"Right," Helia replied, unamused.

"But in a 'we're both favourites to win' kind of way - might want an alliance, unless you plan on going it solo."

"And what makes you the expert?" Helia asked. "You were reaped from your district Anagan; you're not a previous victor."

"Fancy one knows my name, I'm impressed," he laughed a little, finally swallowing and eating some more. After another mouthful he spoke again. "I guess you're right to question my motives, who I am, whether I will stab you in the back. That's why alliances are difficult right? Especially with people you don't know…" he stole a look at Icy who had an ice shard dancing between her fingers on the table, "and with other favourites…or even those that you know really well. It can all change," he clicked his fingers once, "just like that." Helia looked a little sceptical and searched Flora's eyes for guidance but she seemed to be just as confused or suspicious of him as he was.

* * *

"Should we team up with any of the reaped tributes?" Helia asked Faragonda when they arrived back from their first day of training. Most of it was survival and they had kept a close eye on a few others, hoping to do that they had last time and begin identifying those who could be the most useful.

"I wouldn't," Faragonda replied, sipping on a glass of wine that Bloom had passed to her. "Though you can if you feel they will help aid you. The key to winning these games revolves around experience and, those who have been reaped, have less experience than the victors."

"So we shouldn't," Helia accepted, looking to Flora who didn't seem as convinced. "What are you thinking?"

"I think we should use him. Remember Riven, he had some secret ability that he didn't know about and it only showed itself at the end of the games. What if Anagan has something similar, what if he knows something important?"

"Then you need to find out what it is," Faragonda replied, leaning forwards from the lounge as Flora and Helia did the opposite and leant back. The files for Anagan and Icy open on the coffee table in the centre and their mentor perused the two. "Icy is of more value, especially with that trick that she showed you at breakfast. She might have been showing you her powers for a reason, to get you on side."

"Or to threaten her," Helia spoke up. "Because we are both favourites to win maybe she was just testing the waters – trying to get a reaction."

"And she did." They both looked confused. "You're considering her as an alliance member, aren't you? If she's gotten your attention then she'll do it again at some later point. Demonstrate to others that you're interested without words but with actions."

"How do we do that?" Helia asked.

"By playing the game."

* * *

"Good morning again everyone and welcome to day two of your training," Griselda's harsh and gritty voice spoke as the trainers from the day before stood at their stations. "Just a quick reminder of the stations, in case any of you have forgotten what they were from yesterday." She noticed and didn't appreciate the eye rolls. "Camouflage, Spear Throwing, Knot tying and survival tactics, Edible Plants, Hand to Hand combat, Weightlifting, Rock Climbing, Archery and Knife Training, Sword Training, Boxing and Winx Training. Pick your stations and train hard."

The group dispersed to their various stations. Considering their previous training and the fact that this time no one was hiding their true skills, Flora and Helia chose different stations to those they had experienced before. They both knew how to find shelter, to camouflage, use a bow and arrow effectively and select appropriate plants so these training sessions required something a little more physical.

Flora lined up at the Hand to Hand combat station, just behind Icy while Helia moved to the knife throwing station. She watched as Radius from district two nearly pummelled the training guard to death with some kind of grip and he was sent away to the back of the line. Another stepped into the young man's shoes as Icy stepped up to the plate. Flora didn't really take too much notice of it until another young man cut in front of her. "Mind if I go first?" He asked, without waiting for a reply.

"Actually I do," Flora replied making him turn and smirk.

"It's nice to see a younger one with a bit of bite." It was Leon, a tall, medium built young man with black hair and red eyes from Melody. He stared into her eyes to try and intimidate her but Flora was already far too over the entire experience to be knocked down by someone with such a big ego. He seemed over confident and was the complete opposite to Jared from the year before. Jared had been sweet, kind and protective. Leon was only interested in watching his own back, that much was obvious.

"Flora, I presume."

"You presume right," she replied, inching closer so that she was at the same height as he was. This time she noticed him shrink back a little. "And I am next in line."

"That's funny," he smiled, looking to the floor. "I don't see your name anywhere." Flora made the grave mistake of looking where he pointed and she heard Helia yell her name from the other side of the complex. When she looked up she saw him with fist already in motion, aiming squarely to her face. But before she could react another blur of black hit the young man sending him flying to the floor.

"Hey, you ok?" Helia asked, placing an arm around her shoulders as the two battled it out on the mats and proceeded to tumble and punch. It was only when the two were separated that they saw who had saved Flora from a rather dangerous knock to the head. Valtor. They had seen him before, lingering in the training centre and not really doing much to show his skills but he, a known stranger, had just helped her and she didn't understand why.

"Get off me!" Leon yelled as Valtor stood to his feet and the two were separated by the guards. "He attacked me! He should be reprimanded!" The guards rolled their eyes and ignored him before shaking the unknown victor's hand. "Hey! What the hell!"

"Hahahaha!" someone heartedly chuckled. Helia turned to see Gantlos next to Icy. He was struggling to contain his laughter as Leon was removed from the training centre for bad behaviour. "That's hilarious!"

Helia's concerned eyes met with his fiancés. "You sure you're okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine," Flora smiled.

"Everyone back to training!"

* * *

"Interesting indeed," Faragonda pondered, her hand to her chin in concentration as she paced in front of the two sitting comfortably on the couches. "He intervened to help you…why would he do that?"

"I don't know," Flora sighed. "That's the problem. We haven't said a word to him during training, no one even knows who he is."

"And the most peculiar thing is that he shook hands with the guards and wasn't reprimanded for fighting with another tribute," Helia added.

"That could confirm our theory of him working for or with the ancestral witches," Faragonda noted, stopping her pacing and taking a seat. "I'm not entirely sure why Leon decided to attack you…or why Valtor stepped in, but it's a good thing that you told me about this."

"What do we do about it?"

"Nothing, Helia. I'm afraid that we won't be able to know a lot until you are in the arena and then it's already too late," she paused. "Just keep to your training schedules, work hard and try to focus and don't let anyone walk over you."

* * *

Helia lifted a bar of weights and began working on his arm muscles as Flora transformed out of her enchantix form from training and walked to a water cooler for a drink. She took a cup and filled it with the cool liquid before seeing his arm muscles flex and shine. She wanted to be picked up bridal style in those arms and walked down the aisle, to feel them wrapped around her body for protection, warmth and comfort.

"Quite a looker isn't he?" Asked Icy suddenly, startling Flora from her daydream.

"Yeah, I'd be happy with that," Stormy joked to her right. "But I'm afraid he's taken." Flora stamped her authority and ownership. "Yes he is."

"Not that it will be for long," Icy smirked before walking away.

"Don't worry about her she's just trying to wind you up."

"Yeah I noticed," Flora replied, finishing her cup as Stormy got her own. She was careful not to get any water on her hands. "She's getting pretty good at it."

"That's Icy for you, fantastic in the arena, but can be a bit of a pain. Suppose we all can. Are you okay after what happened with Leon yesterday?"

"Yeah I'm fine, just took me off guard was all."

"Good thing Valtor interrupted…what do you know about him?" Here it was. Her opportunity to learn more about the man who took a punch for her had arrived.

"Not a lot," Flora lied, leaving out all her suspicions. "You?"

"Nothing either, though Anagan suspects that he works for the witches, mostly because of that kind little guard handshake yesterday and his differential treatment."

"Sounds like he may be right," Flora smiled as Stormy threw her cup into a nearby bin. "Anyway, I'll catch you later."

* * *

The week had gone by so incredibly fast and they had neared their final task, impressing the ancestral witches for their final training scores. Flora sat nervously next to Helia as Sibylla and Gantlos were called in, leaving them alone to contemplate. "It will be okay," Helia reasoned.

"I don't think it will," Flora replied, catching him off guard. She eased her harsh gaze. "I just mean…Faragonda's right; we've already been painted with a target on our backs. How much of what we do in there now is going to stop that?"

"Nothing," he admitted, placing an arm around her shoulders, inviting her to lean into his body which she did. "But at least we're together in this, that's what matters most, right?"

"Yeah," she nodded.

"Helia of District 12," Griselda called from the far door and he kissed Flora on her head before standing and walking. About twenty minutes later Griselda stood at the door again. "Flora, you're turn." The nature fairy stood to her feet and walked into the room. She saw the three witches sitting at a table at the far end of the room, where they were the year before, only this time they were paying attention. She hated those witches with every fibre of her being and to see them again brought a whole new emotion through her veins. Before she was upset and angry at them for sitting there while she was sent into the arena to die but now she hated them more for the deaths of others. Mirta, Musa, Galatea, Derrick, Riven and countless others, friends and foes, they all died while the ancestral witches taunted them with feasts, disappearing locations and more than one rule change. And now this…they had the nerve to take the perfect life that she and Helia had been hoping for throughout the games away from them. Enough was enough. She may have had a target painted on her back for her actions in the arena the year before but they had blood painted on their consciences and it was time for them to see it.

She walked hurriedly to the fire station and took eight logs of wood and sticks of different length and size and laid them out on the floor. Once prepared, she walked to the camouflage station and took a whole tin of red paint and walked back to start her plan. She closed her eyes and focused on the wood and changed it. Pieces connected and grew roots, changed in appearance and carved themselves into various forms, lines and shapes, and, when it was done; she was looking at a wooden replica of Mirta. She was just as beautiful as her original form though a lot stiffer and, obviously, missing life. Something Flora was going to change.

She opened a part of her chest cavity and poured the red paint from the tin inside until it was full. Then she focused again and a slip of wood closed it, keeping the colour from escaping.

The witches had no idea what the girl was planning but didn't dare look away. When Flora was done she helped her creation to its feet and stepped backwards before looking at the witches and making the wooden statue face them. She noticed their looks of confusion and the shield that they now had before them, obviously to stop anyone doing what she did last time, to come so close to killing all three of them with perfectly placed arrows to the skull.

"Show time," she muttered before concentrating and making the statue take a step forwards. It took another, and another, and another until it was nearly at the shield directly in front of their table. Its right hand lifted as Flora lifted her own, like a master puppet following its puppeteer. The ancestresses flinched as its wooden hand came into contact with the shield, the smell of burning wood slowly escaping into the air. The shield weakened and flickered telling the nature fairy that now was time. She closed her extended hand and the replica Mirta's body exploded, sending showers of red over the witches and the remnants of the shield before it collapsed into a heap of simple wooden logs once more.

The three looked to Flora with rage in their eyes as they tried to wipe the red from their faces and Flora pivoted on her heel and walked towards the exit door where a dumbfounded Griselda stood waiting. When she ran inside to help her three mistresses Bloom stepped up to her and noticed the red paint on her hands. "Are you okay?" She asked and Flora nodded.

"Yeah, Bloom, I'm okay."

* * *

Faragonda lifted her head as Flora walked into the room and went to wash the paint from her hands. She looked to Bloom and she just shrugged her shoulders, indicating that she wasn't sure how the young fairy was doing. But they all found out soon enough when, just after eating dinner, Faragonda turned on the television and they all took a seat on the couches. "Good evening everyone and happy District Games!" Avalon's characteristic voice spoke, his smile beaming across the airwaves. Helia reached for Flora's hand and he was glad to find it firmly gripping his own.

"This afternoon our twenty-four tributes from across the Districts used all of their training skills gained over the last week to show the Ancestral Witches what they were made of. They were then given a score from 1 to 12, one being the worst and twelve being the best. So here are this year's exciting results!"

Tributes images appeared under each districts number and Flora watched intently as the list grew, wondering what her new enemies had earned.

_District 1 – Erakleon – Coda Torta (8) and Samara (6)_

_District 2 – Solaria – Radius (7) and Luna (7)_

_District 3 – Andros – Teredor (7) and Niobe (6)_

_District 4 – Quantum – Anagan (6) and Stormy (8)_

_District 5 – Downland – Abrupto (4) and Nebula (8)_

_District 6 – Gaien – Benjamin (6) and Icy (10)_

_District 7 – Melody – Leon (9) and Chimera (7)_

_District 8 – Whisperia – Valtor (11) and Griffin (10)_

_District 9 – Zenith – Glenn (7) and Ophelia (7)_

_District 10 – Earth – Jason (5) and Morgana (6)_

_District 11 – Rhythm – Gantlos (9) and Sibylla (6)_

_District 12 – Linphea – Helia (11) and Flora (12)_

"Good luck to all and may the odds be ever in your favour." The screen went black as the two looked to Faragonda. "Well it's not like we weren't expecting this…in normal circumstances I'd say that these results were great but we know the truth."

"Any last minute advice?"

"I'll give that to you tomorrow," she offered a small smile. "But I'd suggest you both get a good night's sleep, you never know how many hours in the arena you'll have without it." They both nodded as Faragonda, Bloom and Daphne left them alone.

"Helia," Flora sighed, making him look her in the eye. "Stay with me tonight? I don't want to be alone."

"Sure," he agreed before helping her to her feet and walking into the room. Once in he removed his shirt as Flora got changed and lay down on the bed. He snuggled behind her and circled his arms around her torso, making her feel safe and warm, as if they were back at home in her room, enjoying each other's company. "I love you, no matter what happens, I want you to know that." She whispered and he kissed the crook of her neck. "I know, because I love you too."

* * *

The following morning Helia and Flora ate heartedly in their room with Bloom and Daphne serving them everything they needed. They ate as much as their stomachs could without feeling bloated and drank as much water as they could to hydrate. Helia was downing another glass of water when Faragonda walked in and took a seat at the table. "Well today is the day. The only pieces of advice that I can give you are get water, food, and weapons, work together and have each other's backs and be careful of any alliances that you decide to use in the arena. Sometimes they can only last for so long. Make sure that you always have the upper hand during combat, keep your Winx for as long as possible, avoid using it too often or for unnecessary things and stay low," she paused.

"Being victor's they won't target you for the first few days in order to pick off the weaker ones, but you need to be careful of the actual arena. The last one was pretty harmless except at the end when they wanted to wrap things up, this time it may be more dangerous, especially with a new game maker playing the cards. I'm afraid I can't tell you much more, other than to work together and try to survive and get away from the Tree of Life as quickly as you can."

"Thanks Faragonda," Helia spoke, standing to his feet and shaking her hand. "For everything."

"You're welcome Helia," she smiled as Flora wrapped her arms around the older woman for a moment and leant away. "I'll be watching over you on this end," she checked her watch. "And speaking of which I better go, they want me in the control room before the games start this year. Bloom and Daphne will escort you downstairs." One final smile and she walked out the main door and closed it behind him.

"We need to thank you too," Flora smiled, taking Bloom's hands in her own and smiling into her blue eyes. "You've been such a great friend, both of you and we wish you all the best, no matter what happens."

"As do we," Bloom replied, leaning forwards and taking her friend into her arms when the door suddenly burst open and guards filed inside. Flora felt Bloom being pulled from her grasp by two men who hit her in the head with their batons. "BLOOM!" Daphne screamed when another two took a hold of her and did the same.

"No!" Flora yelled running to try and help Bloom, whose nose and head had started to bleed as shoes entered her ribcage. She grabbed a hold of one man with her arms and tried to pull him away only to be taken by another two that flew into the door. Helia was forced to his knees next to Flora and both were powerless to help them.

Another hit of the baton hit Bloom's head as they heard cracks and Flora wanted to close her eyes. She wanted to look away but just couldn't. One leant back, breathing heavily before smiling and turning to the two struggling tributes. "Avoxes don't talk," he breathed as Daphne was lifted from the floor by her arms and a baton struck her in the chest, causing another loud cracking sound to fill the room. Helia and Flora could see the tears freely flowing from their friend's eyes a she gasped for air and was dragged outside. Her unconscious sister soon followed - pools and droplets of blood following the pair. "Get them up! We need them in the arena!"

* * *

Flora desperately tried to stop the guards from pulling her to her feet and forcing her down the hall to their awaiting ships but it was useless, she had lost all of her fight and strength. She wanted to break down and cry, just let out all the shock that she felt constrict her breathing and made her wheeze but she couldn't appear weak. Helia looked just as bad but he managed to keep his cool until they were both shoved into their ship and forced to take off.

"D-did we…cause that?"

"No," Helia shook his head, blinking back his tears. "The witches did."

"But…I…I helped t-them t-t-to t-talk," she sobbed before leaning into Helia's chest and absorbing his warmth and strength, hating herself for giving in so easily. "It's a-all my f-fault."

"We have to think straight…we have to be confident."

"H-how?" She asked, waiting for a strong reply, some poetic response that Helia always had, the magical ability that he had to make her feel comfortable, in control and okay. But even his eyes betrayed him this time. "I don't know…but we have to."

"I don't know if I can."

"You can… it's like Bloom said, we can't just give up." The ship shuttered as it landed before the doors hissed opened. The sunlight filled the cabin along with the sound of the crowd cheering for each pair as they exited the ships. The stepped out onto the platform and walked up the stairs, the crowds cheering in the background nothing but a dull roar in comparison to their hearts overwhelming beat. "Check the details and sign here." Helia perused the document and signed it, happy that his heart rate had started to decrease and that he had managed to push his emotions to the side for a moment, just long enough for the cameras until the games began. He waited for Flora to do the same before they walked through the barrier again.

The familiar tingling of the healing magic shield danced through Flora's body and Helia checked that she was okay. A nod was his only reply. The two walked to their designated platforms as Avalon's voice boomed through the speakers and the crowd outside went wild. "Let the games begin!"


	11. Sea of Red

**AN: Here we are folks, the arena. Please take note of the warnings in this chapter and the stories new rating; I put them there for a reason. Hope you like this chapter and that it was worth the build up.**

**Weapon descriptions, names and 'who used/uses them' details will be given at the end of each chapter hereafter for your reference. I have also included a few important pieces of information in the ending authors note that I'd appreciate you taking the time to read.**

**Warning: This chapter contains strong violence, blood, gore and character death. You have been warned.**

* * *

**Chapter 10**

_**Sea of Red**_

"The games will begin in 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4…"

Flora formulated a plan, run for it, get to the Tree of Life first, grab what she wanted and swim away. Surrounding where the tributes and Tree were located was a beach before the jungle and wild wilderness extended the rest of the way. Her best chance was to get into the trees.

"3…" She readied herself.

"2…" She held her breath.

"1…" The canon fired and all Flora felt was pain. It stretched from her head through her heart and down to her legs though she still managed to leap off her platform and onto the sand stretch to her left. She landed with a confident thud and ran forwards, noticing that the others were a little slower off the mark. She heard footsteps approaching from her right and saw Anagan reach her side. He moved to his right just in time before a single ice shard landed in the Tree of Life's golden trunk. Ducking Flora took a bow and quiver of arrows, pulling one into the string and releasing it at Icy who approached quickly to their side. She hit the sand and it missed before scrambling back onto her feet and continuing forwards.

"Behind you!" Anagan shouted and she turned, shooting an arrow towards Nebula though she dived into the water to avoid the attack and it flew straight into Abrupto's heart, sending him crashing into the waves with a puddle of red.

She realised that he hadn't made a move towards the tree because he couldn't swim and she understood that the others hesitations could have been because they were not as comfortable with it as others. After all, there was no swimming section inside the training centre. Teredor and Niobe, both being from Andros, had no trouble and bolted while Helia was also making his way to the middle.

"What do you see?" Anagan asked and she looked around her feet, seeing nothing but weapon after weapon. "Just weapons, no back packs."

"Grab what you want and let's get the hell out of here," Anagan ordered, bending down and picking up a particularly fetching crossbow gauntlet. He didn't waste any pulling it onto his hand and using the smaller arrows to fire at the tributes slowly closing in on them. He bent down and loaded his belt with a few knives and extra firing implements before he lifted his head and saw Valtor making his way in with Samara closing the gap. She jumped behind him, holding onto a staff made of crystal when he reacted in time, pulling one of the butterfly swords he had collected and plunging it into her chest. She fell to the side and he kicked her into the water where she floated while Chimera approached from north-west of Flora and she felt a hand on the back of her neck, pulling her down to the floor. She landed just in time to see a knife fly over the top of her and hit a retreating Niobe in the back. Her legs suddenly stopped functioning and, as she fell Coda Torta, swung his Dadoa, relieving of her head.

The two pieces fell into the already reddening water before Ben lunged forwards and Flora lifted her head, seeing Helia next to her. He placed his hand on a handle of some sort and held it upwards, making the young reaping-selected tribute impale himself on the end of the naginata.

Pulling it from his body he took Flora's hand as she lifted another quiver of arrows and they dived into the water and started to swim. Anagan was close behind; he ran for the edge and entered the water, kicking his legs madly behind him as Stormy followed. Flora couldn't remember where she had come from but she didn't really care. By the time they reached the shore the other victors had disappeared and the canons started to fire.

One, two, three, four, one less than last year but their games had only just started. Flora took a deep breath as she stood on the beach. "This arena," Helia began rather breathlessly. "I didn't see it coming."

"Yeah well forests and mountains aren't the only things they can create," Anagan explained, leading the charge through the trees to the Tree of Life's east in search for water. They stopped after what felt like half an hour and Stormy proceeded to dig into the earth but the only water supply she received at the end of the meter long ditch was salty. "Salt water again," Helia sighed. "They aren't making it easy for us this time."

"It wasn't easy last time," Flora replied, remembering when Mirta tripped and fell into the pool of water by shire luck and saved their lives. Before then they had been aimlessly roaming the forest in search for the clear liquid. At least they had containers last time around, this time they didn't have a damn thing.

"I suppose they want this to end quickly," Stormy suggested, walking around and inhaling deeply through her nose.

"What are you doing?" Anagan questioned and she held her hand in the air, sensing and feeling her way around.

"I have power over lightning and can detect changes in the atmosphere when rain is drawing near."

"Anything?" Flora asked and she shook her head.

"No, nothing. All we can do is start walking. Any ideas about direction?"

"No," Helia sighed, adjusting his swords position on his back. "Though we might be luckier if we stay on high ground."

"I agree," Flora nodded before Anagan started the charge and the small group of four started trekking up the hill. Judging by the sun high inside the sky they were heading east, assuming that it was still morning, though it felt like it could have been afternoon. For some strange reason even time felt different inside the arena, minutes felt like hours, hours felt like days and days felt like weeks. But, Helia supposed, it was the fact that his heart was always beating madly against his ribcage in anticipation of fight of flight that made every day seem so tiring and so long… so painstakingly long.

* * *

They had been walking through the jungle for hours and the day was wearing thin, the sky had begun to darken ever so slightly and Stormy took an opportunity to stop and catch her breath. "Can we stop a second? I just need to catch my breath." Anagan nodded and she took a seat on the ground, taking in deep breaths and wiping her brow. "It's so hot in here."

"I know," Flora agreed. "Judging by the foliage I'd say this is a tropical rainforest, it's always very warm and sticky during the day. It might get cold throughout the night, but, considering how warm it is now I highly doubt it."

"It would be better if we could at least drink some water," Helia added, kicking a small stone with his shoe and wiping his brow of sweat. "To replace all the water we're losing." Stormy closed her eyes and held her hand in the air, expecting and waiting for some kind of weather change but it was still the same. She shook her head and the others sighed. "I'm going to go ahead for a while, see if I can find anything," Helia explained and started up the hill again.

"I'll come with you," Anagan volunteered, before turning to the two young women. "We'll be back in ten minutes, don't move, we'll find you." And with that they trekked away and out of sight, their groans and footsteps slowly silencing in the distance. "Kind of ruins your wedding plans, doesn't it?" Stormy asked and Flora nodded.

"Yeah, I guess it does. You know about our engagement then?"

"Of course!" Stormy beamed. "Everyone does, you should have seen how many times they replayed your win of the last games. I swear you got more attention than the rest of us. The idea that one or neither of you could come home is really giving the games some additional appeal this year."

"I don't know what's so appealing about it," Flora admitted quietly, though she knew it was pointless to try. Every word that passed her lips would end up broadcast to the rest of the magical dimension no matter how quietly she whispered it.

Stormy had to agree, there wasn't appeal for the games in the districts but in Magix it was huge. Crowds would bet on who would win, would pool money together to support their favourite tribute, would cheer at the deaths of those they didn't like and applaud those who won, crown them king of the kingdom and let them live their lives in silent misery.

Well… until now that was.

The rule change had demonstrated to the districts that no one was safe, and though Stormy suspected that it was Flora and Helia's actions in the arena that had caused it she bit her tongue. Sometimes those who stood for good inside a realm of death and destruction were the shining candle that could change the future. Maybe these two were capable of changing the world's fate, of stopping the district games all together and taking down the ancestral witch's supremacy. She wasn't sure if it was just one giant hope, or dream, to make the world better, but it made complete sense. Fight alongside those who are fighting for good and you can't lose… at least in theory.

BANG!

Flora's heart leaped from her chest as she stood to her feet, Stormy doing the same. Without a word the two armed themselves with whatever supplies they were carrying and they ran up the hill, searching for their two friends. Flora rounded the next tree and saw Anagan on his knees, over the top of Helia's body.

She ran forwards and threw herself on the young man's back in an effort to pull him away when she was shaken off and he continued, pumping his chest twenty times and breathing life into his lungs. He was saving his life, not ending it. "Helia!" She yelled, kneeling next to his side. "What happened?" She asked Anagan who was too breathless to talk. He pounded on his chest again with one strong fist and Helia sat upright, inhaling a deep and life fulfilling breath. He lay back down breathing heavily as Anagan sat back himself, his arms tired and body heaving.

"Helia?" Flora asked, tears falling from her eyes at his weakened state. He smiled slightly and she leant in to kiss his lips before leaning back. "What happened?"

"I don't know," Anagan admitted. "One minute he was looking around, the next he slipped right off the edge." He pointed to his left to the exact position. "Then he was thrown back and he wasn't breathing…I was only trying to help."

"The arena's edge," Stormy noted, making Flora look up from her fiancés now closed eyes. She picked up a rock and walked to the edge of the cliff before dropping the stone. It bounced to the bottom of the abyss and then back into her hand. "It's the protective force field to stop us venturing too far."

Helia looked up to Flora as she adjusted his head so it was on her knees. His breathing was quick and he groaned every now and then at the pain I his chest from Anagan's lifesaving efforts. "What do we do now?" Flora asked.

"It's getting late," Anagan replied. "It's probably a good idea to set up camp here. Helia will need to take it easy for a while and there's no point in getting lost in the forest." Flora nodded before helping Helia's head back to the ground. "I'll find something for us to sleep on." It didn't take long for the nature fairy to see exactly what she was looking for. Tropical rainforests were renowned for their large ferns and leaves. She found six leaves, large enough for the four of them and dragged them to the others as the sky darkened and the stars came out. Carefully Helia moved himself onto one and Stormy another. Anagan said his goodnight's and climbed a nearby tree to get into position while Flora and Stormy lay still.

The anthem started to play, making Helia open his eyes. Samara was the first from District 1, before Niobe from 3, Abrupto from 5 and Ben from 6. Their faces faded and Helia fell asleep. Flora couldn't sleep, she wasn't sure why but she just couldn't get her mind to turn itself off. Stormy couldn't either. She stared at the stars, smiling ever so slightly at the constellations.

"You like the stars?"

"Yeah," Stormy admitted. "When I was a girl, I used to look at the stars and just dream about what things would be like in the future. And then I was picked for the reaping and I stared at the stars in the arena every night, just trying to shut it out… I guess it worked the first time but its different now."

"How?" Flora asked and the weather witch turned to look at her green eyes.

"I'm not sure…it just is…night Flora."

"Night."

* * *

Helia opened his eyes and rolled onto his side, sweat still covering his forehead at the unrelenting heat. He felt a headache start to build behind his eyes, adding to the rest of his body's pains. The arena was quiet and darkness covered the land, the only light being that of the moon. Flora and Stormy were both sleeping peacefully and he smiled slightly, glad that, at the very least, they had all survived the first day in the arena. Though, when the previously sleeping birds flew from their arena in a mass hurry and a strange smell overwhelmed his senses, Helia's smile passed as quickly as it came.

"Guys," he called. "Wake up." His hand reached to shake Flora and it was then that he saw it, a kind of mist, grey in colour, floating towards them through the forest, enveloping everything in its path. "Flora! Stormy!" He yelled before covering his mouth with the neck of his shirt as the two woke up.

"We've got to get out of here." He explained, pointing at the gas as Anagan landed on solid ground from the above tree. "Everyone follow me." He ordered before rushing ahead, Helia staggering behind with Flora and Stormy taking up the rear.

The four snaked away from the mysterious fog, covering their mouths and noses with whatever they could as they went. Flora raced behind Helia as quickly as she could when she heard a thud and turned to see Stormy on the ground. She doubled back to see Stormy couching violently, a large puddle of black liquid now lying on the earth as blood appeared at the edges of her mouth.

"Stormy!" Flora yelled, reaching forwards to take the witches hand and pull her to her feet but she refused and coughed harshly again, her lungs wheezing as she did so. "I…I can't," she mumbled.

"Yes you can," Flora replied, covering her mouth with the neck of her shirt. "Come on." Stormy turned, the fog was growing closer, her ankle hurt, she couldn't breathe and the black sticky goo on the ground she coughed up recently was definitely not a sign of good health. She shook her head. "Just go!" She yelled hoarsely.

"No!" Flora refused, reaching forwards to take the witches hand. She hit it away like a fly annoying her face. "Just run! Get out of here! Win the games with Helia and get the wedding you both deserve." Flora opened her mouth to reply but it was already too late. A blast erupted from the witch's hands sending her flying through the forest until she landed in a heap near Anagan. She turned to see Stormy stand to her feet and turn to the seeping poisonous gas and close her eyes. Then she disappeared.

Helia's hands pulled Flora to her feet as the remaining three ran as quickly as they could towards the beach. It was out in the open but something told Anagan it was the only place they would be safe. "Keep running!" He yelled, behind him when a lightning strike hit a behind them to their left and the fog stopped moving. Anagan turned, confusion written over his features as he stared at the grey fog, frozen in time. Flora and Helia looked the same, each one wondering what was happening. Then it sucked itself back to wherever it came from, as if an oversized vacuum cleaner forced it to retreat,

Flora stepped forwards, her eyes ghosted with tears as she heard Anagan cough. She took a step towards where they had come from, wondering whether Stormy was still alive or not. Helia's hand prevented her from taking another. He stood in front of her. "You don't want to see that."

BANG!

There it was - the confirmation that she both needed and dreaded. Admittedly she hadn't known Stormy for a long time and many of their conversations had been brief, but what she had told her before the end, about Helia and herself winning the games made her wonder whether the witch knew more than she was letting on.

"We should rest on the beach," Anagan explained. "It will be out in the open but at least we'll be away from whatever that was." Helia nodded and Flora, with tired and tear filled eyes, followed the two to the beach. They stopped in front of the salt lake centre, checked their surroundings and proceeded to use the salt water against their skin. It felt good to feel something other than the heat for a change. With their arms and legs and necks now clean of dust and sweat the three walked back to the tree edge and took a seat. "I'll stay on watch this time," Flora explained, she was tired but knew she wouldn't sleep tonight.

"Are you sure?" Helia asked. "You don't want me to be with you?"

"I'll be fine," she reassured, placing a kiss to his cheek. "You both need to rest." Suddenly the anthem played and all three lifted their eyes to the sky. Stormy's face appeared with her district number, 4, written below. It faded as quickly as it came and a squad ship flew overhead to retrieve her body. 5 tributes had died in the first twelve hours, such a short time in the grand scheme of things, but for Flora it already felt like a lifetime.

* * *

**AN: Thanks for reading and please review :) I'd really like to know what you think of the first chapter in the arena. I know that it has been following the **_**Catching Fire **_**storyline a little at this point but that will change as the story progresses. Below are a few important announcements/information bites for you. Please take the time to give them a read through.**

**BLOOD WARS – REVELATIONS NEWS: **I have opened a poll on my profile asking for people to leave character suggestions from this fic to be included in the Blood Wars: Revelations. If you have a character from this fic that you would like to see fleshed out in more detail or inside added scenes not included in here, at any point through this fic, then respond to the poll or leave a review/PM with your suggestion :)

**ARENA MAP (_PLEASE SEE MY PROFILE FOR THE LINK_): **Please note that I did not make this map but am eternally grateful to who did, it has been a massive help with planning this fic. There are some things that are difficult to try and write about the arena so I thought that seeing a visual idea of the layout may help.

Also, please take note that some of the areas will be changed to suit the tributes and some will not be used at all. If you have a particular section that you would like to see used then send me a PM/Review or if you have a suggestion for some of the areas without anything in them, let me know.

**WEAPONS USED THIS CHAPTER (In order of appearance):**

Bow and Arrows (Flora) – Standard black bow with black arrows

Crossbow Gauntlet (Anagan) - A small crossbow that is attached to a steel or iron gauntlet and used as a glove. Range is limited and reloaded with various firing implements including smaller arrows.

Crystal Staff (Samara) – Standard staff but made of crystal with a sharpened diamond head at the top.

Butterfly Swords (Valtor) – Roughly as long as a human forearm, the butterfly sword is long and wide but quite thin. When held together the pair of swords can create the appearance of a single weapon. Are most effective at close quarters combat.

Dadao (Coda Torta) – Broad blade that is, generally, between two and three feet long. Has long hilts meant for "hand and a half" or two-handed use, and generally involves a weight-forward balance.

Naginata (Helia) – A form of pole weapon, involves a black staff with a 30-60cm blade at the top, has traditionally been used by Japanese Samurai's.

_Weapons seen in several chapters will only be described inside the one they first appear in._


	12. Stranger Than It Seems

**AN: I'd like to apologise for how long it has taken for me to get this updated, a mixture of personal circumstances and everlasting writers block prevented anything from being written for a long time. But I have managed to turn the odds in my favour and get this chapter to you as soon as I could.**

**All errors are mine, I apologise if there are a few, another late night edit probably didn't help. If you see one let me know by review or PM and I'll fix it a.s.a.p**

**Warning: This chapter contains violence, blood and dark themes, you have been warned.**

* * *

**Chapter 11**

_**Stranger Than It Seems**_

Flora didn't know which of the emotions and physical responses she should focus on the most. Either the pounding headache and sore throat caused by her long and sleepless night or the physical exhaustion of running for so long with no sign of water in their sights. Her lungs felt heavy, probably owing to the fog that tried to kill them the previous night, and her eyes were itchy and red. It had been a long sleepless night for the nature fairy who hadn't managed a wink while Helia and Anagan rested peacefully on the sandbank behind her.

Anagan was an interesting team member, he had proven himself to be useful and had saved Helia's life, but Flora hated the idea that, because he had done so, they owed him something later during the games. Maybe they would have to let him live right at the very end, a life for a life. Or maybe he would betray them, turn his back on them during a moment of crisis or stab them in the back, either literally or figuratively. She wouldn't blame him if he did. It wasn't in Helia or her own nature to go against what they believed, or the deals that they had made, but if she hadn't had such a loving mother and upbringing and had suffered most of her short life only to be thrown into the hunger games arena and come out the other end standing…well, picking off the new victors would be a no brainer; killing, in all its forms, would become second nature.

But she was lucky enough to never know what true suffering was and she prayed that, although she never truly got to understand or know Stormy, she hadn't suffered too long in the end. The ship had flown overhead in the middle of the night to pluck her lifeless body from the undergrowth, like a toy or chocolate bar from an arcade game. Another victor was gone – they were either another step closer to going home or another step closer to their own demise.

Suddenly something flew overhead, casting a shadow over her head and a small silver container landed in the sand to her right. She looked to the number, twelve, and detached the parachute and opened it. Inside was something she had never seen before. It looked like a long sharp spike with some kind of opening at the other end, a square hole for something to leak from. Was it a weapon? Probably not, the end was sharp but not sharp enough to cut human flesh. Was Faragonda trying to tell them something? Was she trying to give them a clue?

"Hey," Helia greeted, shuffling to sit beside her, he noticed the bags under her eyes, the red lines of exhaustion in her eyes, the way she released a barely audible 'hello' without parting her lips. "Did you get any sleep?" She shook her head honestly, still staring at the strange object in her fingertips. Helia brought his left arm around her shoulders and she leaned into his secure touch, her head resting against his shoulder. "What's that?"

"It's a gift from Faragonda." Helia took it from her and inspected it, blowing in one end to see if it would make some sort of noise but it didn't. "What is it?"

"I have no idea," she admitted.

"It's a sap spike," Anagan spoke, kneeling in front of the two of them and taking it into his hands. He held it horizontally, so the spike was dead straight to his left and the strange square piece with the hole was pointing downwards. "We make them back in Quantum, you stick the spike into a tree and the sap comes through the square end for collection. We use the sap for medicine."

"But what kind of sap would be in these trees to make Fara-" Flora stopped, her eyes opening suddenly with realisation. The spike, the trees, the lack of water; how were all these trees still living without a single drop of fresh water to be found? How was it so humid inside a rainforest desolately dry from the ground up? She took the spike from Anagan's hand and stood to her feet excitedly, looking to the sky and muttering a thank you to whoever had sent them the precious gift.

"What is it?" Helia asked, standing next to her as she smiled.

"Water!" Her feet ran through the sand towards the nearest set of trees where she plunged the spike into the trunk as hard as she could. It didn't make it very far.

"Here let me try," Helia replied, telling Flora and Anagan to stand back while he used his naginata to try and stab a hole to weaken the exterior. Flora nervously held the spike in her hands, her tongue tingling with anticipation, tingling with excitement that her mouth might finally be moist again, that she could finally quench her thirst.

A strange but loud zap caught their attention, making them stare at a dark black tree further up the ridge behind Helia, close to where the barrier prevented their escape. White lightning struck it for a moment and disappeared, making both of them shrug their shoulders and not pay too much attention - until they heard a roar.

"What was that?" Helia asked, looking to his right when Flora watched something black fly through the sky and bring Helia to the ground. He struggled to kick it off him only to see fifty or more others all coming his way.

"Helia!" Flora yelled, about to change into her enchantix to start blasting away at the beasts when they heard something, a melody sweeping through the trees and a bright golden light in the distance. Helia fended off another beast when it suddenly stopped attacking him and he had a chance to get a good look at it. It was a demon dog, a thin beast, similar to grey hound in stature with sharp teeth that drooled continuously and sharp spikes over its back and legs. He scrambled to his feet when the demon raced toward the light and the sound of a fight broke out.

Flora stood dumbfounded, not sure of what to think as Helia made his way back to them. The trees moved from side to side as the beasts roared and fought, their howls and their victims shrieks filling their ears and providing a wake-up call to the other tributes - another deadly day had begun.

Then they suddenly stopped and Sibylla staggered from the bush and onto the sand, her hands clutching over her stomach, a large gash spilling blood onto the ground below and staining it red. Her breathing was staggered and harsh as she fell face-first onto the sand. Helia quickly ran to her side with Flora, the pair helping to turn her over. Her injuries were extensive and Flora had to stop herself from being sick as the sight of the young woman's intestines, visible through the multitude of bite marks that pulled flesh from muscle and muscle from bone.

"Why did you do that?" Helia asked, making her smile ever so slightly. He didn't understand why she had attracted them to herself, taken the beating for him. She lifted her left hand and placed it on Helia's when he felt something passing between his fingers. Looking down the blood stained paper he unfolded it to see a single photograph of Galatea and Derrick, both happily smiling for the picture.

"F-f-for t-t-t-them," she stammered, coughing a substantial amount of blood from her throat. Her breathing quickened once more as Helia held her hand. Then she stopped, her eyes glazed and body lost the last of its colour, the red across her face and body contrasting against the white canvas of her skin.

BANG!

The canon fired.

Helia drew a deep breath into his lungs before placing his forefinger and thumb over her eyelids and pulling them closed, thankfully they rested where they should have.

"We need to get out of here," Anagan explained, "They'll want to pick her up." Flora nodded and forced her shaky legs to make her stand. Helia did the same, not uttering a word, the bloodstained photograph still held firmly in his hand.

* * *

Heading west with Anagan as their guide the group decided to stay on high alert and keep away from the trees. First poisonous fog and now demon dogs, what other hazards had Sky's father created for them.

For a moment Flora wondered whether the crowds in Magix were enjoying themselves, enjoying seeing the trauma, enjoying the feast of experienced tributes fighting one another to the death in the largest blood bath she had known. She supposed they would be, while those in the districts…well, they probably weren't feeling the same.

For a moment she took a glance at Helia who was pale, his forehead beaded with sweat and mind obviously somewhere else. She wasn't exactly sure what Sibylla's uncharacteristic sacrifice had meant but she did know that if anyone from district four had done the same for her because of Mirta she wouldn't feel worthy. Self sacrifice was the greatest expression of love or dedication to a cause, so what did Sibylla's mean for Helia? What did it mean for them? That they were to be protected against the elements? Why did Stormy too sacrifice herself to save her when she knew very little about the witch and probably would have died in the fog herself.

So many unanswered questions rolled around her head, making Flora wonder whether Faragonda knew the answers or whether she would live long enough to find them herself. Either way she knew that they needed to keep on going, to lift their heads high and keep playing the game, keep surviving. Because if Bloom, Daphne, Stormy and Sibylla had all died to protect them, they owed it to them to make sure their sacrifices were not in vain.

Before Flora could take another step an ice shard landed in the ground just before her toes, she lifted her head immediately to see Anagan with crossbow at the ready and to see Helia holding his naginata, another ice shard sitting neatly in the wooden staff.

"How are we doing this fine morning?" Icy taunted, floating from above and landing on the soft sand, two other figures following her side. They were the two tributes from Zenith where Tecna and Timmy were from. Flora could recognise that orange hair and pale skin tone anywhere.

"Fine, you?" Anagan replied, in a sort of friendly way that made Flora slightly suspicious.

"Fine, bit of a rough awakening, huh, another one down already and its only day two." She didn't sound sincere but Flora didn't mind her trying to make their situation a little more everyday and comical, it shouldn't have been like that, but anything had to be better than drowning in the unanswered questions and ideas that wouldn't go to rest.

"What do you want?" Helia barked, cutting to the chase.

"An alliance," Icy replied seriously, "tributes are dropping off like flies." Another canon fired the moment she finished the sentence, punctuating her point. "See?" she emphasised. "We have more of a chance to get through this thing if we stick together as a team than going it alone in our separate groups."

"What could you offer us?" Anagan asked and Icy's eyes shifted to meet his. "We've been doing just fine so far so what are you offering us?"

"Other than my immeasurable power and skill?" Icy laughed, but the group before her remained silent. "Wow tough crowd."

"This is serious!" Helia yelled, stepping forward with staff in hand. "Tell us why we shouldn't just kill you all right now?"

"You need us," a young male voice spoke, as he stepped from behind Icy and into their view. He wasn't a very big kid, tiny in width and about as tall as Helia. They were surprised that he had lasted this long. "Ophelia has the greatest mind of any previous victor, Icy is super powerful and incredibly strong and I… well I have this." He held up a strange looking cylinder and opened it to reveal a metal coil of wire, it didn't look like much of a weapon but there had to be at least a kilometre of the stuff in there.

"And why don't you want to go it alone?" Flora asked making Icy step forward again. "You've survived this far."

"Because of that." Icy's bony finger pointed to the spike, held in Flora's hands. "We need water and you have the only item in the arena that can give it to us." Helia stood protectively in front of her. "Don't worry lover boy I'm not going to hurt her but I know of a few other tributes who are damn near ready to try."

"Who?" Helia asked and she tutted her tongue.

"Let's just say that this little power duo," she pointed over her shoulder to Ophelia and Glenn with her thumb, "are the strategic dream team, they have intel, they know where everyone is." Flora's eyes widened, to have that kind of information would be vital for their survival. Helia turned to face her and she nodded giving him the go ahead.

"Are you sure they are coming here?" He asked, still unconvinced.

"If Ophelia and Glenn can track the three of you the others will be able to as well, admittedly a little slower than we did, and they won't be friendly," Icy paused. "You hold the one thing that stands between a lot of them and a slow dehydrated death." Helia remained firm; his teeth clenched as Icy lifted her head and released a sigh. "It's up to you, take it or leave it."

"Helia," Flora spoke, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Remember what Faragonda said, we need to make allies. I know you're scared but we can do this together, okay?" He nodded, though was understandably worried for Flora's safety. Every new ally was another possible debt, every new addition to their team a threat to their safety.

"Okay."

"Excellent!" Icy beamed, "first things first, let's make sure that spike does what it's supposed to."

Anagan looked in Flora's direction and she nodded before walking to the tree. She didn't have the strength to push it all the way in and Helia didn't seem to either so Anagan shot a single crossbow into the trunk and took it into his hand, forcing it backwards and forwards to make a gap. With all his might he pulled it back out before taking the spike from Flora's hands and stabbing it inside.

They waited for a long, slow moment before a single drop of water fell into Anagan's hand and he smiled before it started a gentle stream.

Icy quickly cast a spell and formed an ice bucket and placed it below, along with several cups that they used to drink their fill. The combination between the icy cold containers and the water that now dwelt within them was heaven on earth for the six of them who had been waiting so long to taste it.

Flora hastily gulped another mouthful and swallowed savouring the moisture and watching Helia pour some of the water onto his hand which he used to wash his face and neck. She too did the same with the others as they sat down near the tree and drank their fill.

"Well that's the water taken care of, the next thing will be food," Anagan noted.

"And shelter," Icy added, finishing off the last of her cup and waving her hand so they vanished into thin air.

"Why didn't you just melt your own ice?" Helia asked and Icy understood the logic.

"Magical ice doesn't work the same way that normal ice does, it's not really fit for consumption. All forms of magical food or drink are not lasting, in some cases you can end up thirstier or hungrier than before you ate or drank it."

"Maybe we should set up camp," Ophelia spoke, her throat no longer sore and able to produce audible words.

"Good idea, we'll go and look for some stuff to build a shelter," Glenn agreed, helping the older woman to her feet and starting through the bush. The silver container caught Helia's eye for a moment in the young man's pocket but he quickly dismissed his fear. They could have killed them for the spike instead of bargaining them with intel or support. Helia wasn't exactly sure why but he knew that Flora was probably thinking the same thing.

Unfolding the photograph from his pocket he looked at the innocent faces of two people whose lives had been tragically cut short when, as if in his imagination, he heard Galatea's voice screaming his name. His head lifted suddenly and he looked around, eyebrows furrowed in confusion and eyes darting from left to right.

"Did anyone else hear that?" He asked making them stop their conversation and listen.

"Helia!" The scream echoed and he stood to his feet looking around the forest for the source of the sound.

"Helia! Help us!"

"Derrick!" Helia yelled back.

"Flora!"

"Miele!" She screamed in return, dropping the spike and running for it through the sand toward the west, Helia quickly following behind.

"Flora, wait!" He begged.

"Flora! Please, don't let me die!" Mirta spoke.

"I'm coming! I'm coming!" She called before entering the tree line, Helia's own feet skidding to a hault in the undergrowth.

"Where are you?" She asked the wilderness.

"Right here."

* * *

AN: Thanks for reading and please review!

_Response to Anonymous Reviews:_

SparklingFlora – Thank you for reviewing I'm glad that you have loved the story so far and I hope that you enjoyed this chapter as well. I wanted to try and play around with the characters a little and am glad that you liked it. Please continue to let me know what you think, it truly means a lot.


	13. The Demons Are Waiting

**A/N: Thank you everyone for the support and for the reviews, please keep them coming. You have no idea how much it means to me to know that people are still interested in this series.**

******I have started a Deviant ART account ( chrissiemusa. deviant / gallery/) (No Spaces) to share some of my BW creations, please check them out if you're interested and let me know what you think. ********I hope you like them! :)**

**Warning: This chapter contains strong violence, blood and character death. You have been warned.**

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**Chapter 12**

_**The Demons Are Waiting**_

The two turned slowly to see a small black bird with a beak looked like it was made of twenty four carat gold. It's chest puffed slightly forwards as it balanced on the ground and its eyes were blood red and sharp, highlighting the birds larger-than-average neck. Sharp claws adorned its feet, again seemingly golden in design and stature, and its wings, when stretched to full length, were thirty centimetres long and rimmed with the deep yellow shine.

Helia's eyes flicked to Flora's, his head not moving as she did the same. Neither was sure of what to do. They had both encountered stories about these birds before, had heard how they were once used for communication purposes between the districts and realms before more sophisticated magic was created. But they had also heard of how they were destroyed, doomed to extermination after leaking secrets that were never supposed to be revealed.

As far as they, and anyone else in the districts watching could remember, the last bird had been shot on national TV before being thrown onto a pile of other burning ones whose beaks and claws had been cut off for melting down for weapons and jewellery. It was a cruel and dark time of the districts history, long before the Ancestral Witches had shown up and destroyed everyone's idea of freedom.

So if they were all dead, how was there one of them standing before them, turning his head to the left inquisitively as its red eye shone a little brighter. "What's wrong?" It asked, Mirta's voice exiting its beak and into their ears. At first they thought it had to be a trick but soon other voices surrounded them.

"Help!" Another screeched from above, Helia's neck straining to see another bird swoop and land on another branch, surveying them eagerly from its standpoint.

"Flora!" Miele's voice faded into her radar as another black bird swooped from the trees and just past her ear, making the nature fairy recoil and cover her ears with her hands as it did, feeling a small sticky drop or two of blood fall from a sharp cut left by the creatures knife edged feathers.

It landed next to the other and turned. "Please save me, Flora. Don't let them hurt me."

"Please Helia, don't let me die."

"STOP!" Helia yelled but that only made things one hundred times worse.

Within seconds their vision was covered with the black birds of prey, their beaks tore sharply at their clothes while their skin was scratched by the birds' long talons. Thousands of the creatures swirled overhead, not letting either of them get a reprieve. Helia Flora as best as he could as the birds relentless screaming of their friends and relatives made their eardrums blow.

They reached towards Icy who stood at the edge, Glenn and Ophelia both arriving soon after. They tried to reach for his hand but they couldn't. A strange invisible wall prevented their attempt to help and the moment Helia saw it his heart broke, they weren't going anywhere.

Flora screamed, covering her ears desperately with her hands to stop their voices penetrating her skull but it wasn't working, nothing was working. She closed her eyes tight and quickly changed into her Enchantix before flying into the air to draw their attention, leaving Helia with only a few crawling around his body and yelling at him in his ear. He picked up a stick and managed to swat a few of them away but others quickly rose in their place.

Flora aimed quickly and shot attack after attack at the birds, her hands shaking as she heard her mother's scream come from the latest one she managed to hit. It landed on the ground with a thud as two others flew to replace it.

"Flora!" Helia screamed, pulling another from his back and hearing his shirt rip in the process. "Stop wasting your magic! It's not doing anything!"

She shot one last attack at another and another at a muttering one on her right, Musa's voice muttering constantly, 'don't let me go, please don't' let me go, don't let me go," over and over again. She heard her scream when it hit and finally felt too exhausted to continue. She floated back to the ground and Helia hugged her body against his as tightly as he could, both of them closing their eyes and trying to block out the screams.

Finally, after what felt like an entire day, they left, hopped away into the trees and they stopped. Icy, who had her hand against the shield felt it disappear under her grasp and was quick to check on the pair's well-being. Carefully Helia uncurled from Flora, both visibly shaken. Flora was the worst, her face had become suddenly paler and it didn't take long for her to crawl away from them and be violently sick on the dirt. Her hands and arms shook uncontrollably, her ears rang and rang. It was difficult to hear anything going on around her and soon she fell to her side, unconscious.

* * *

Opening her eyes, Flora noticed that it was dark; the stars shone above beautifully as she sat herself up and felt something weird in her ears. She tried to pick whatever I was out when Ophelia stopped her. "No, don't touch it. It will help your ears to heal."

"What is it?" Flora asked, barely hearing Ophelia over the clotting.

"A kind of tree sap; mixed with a little water and magic, and held in place with a bit of moss. It will soften your ears up and give them a break."

"Where's Helia?"

"He's out with Glenn, getting us some more water from that tree we first used. We'll be harder to track if we use that one until its dry rather than leaving a trail of marks on the trees every time we move." Flora nodded, encouraged that she had become part of this bizarre partnership. She had always been a little unsure about partnerships in the arena, but had warmed up to Helia rather quickly. She supposed it was because they were both put into a life and death situation, and the only other one to know about how it felt was right next to them the entire time. It wasn't always the same for other tributes of course, but their journey had been a particularly trying and difficult one.

And now here she was with others that she hardly knew, but, for some reason, she felt like they had her best interests at heart.

Anagan rounded the corner with a couple of larger leaves; he smiled before pulling them down for them to sleep. She distinctly noticed a second gauntlet attached to his other hand, making both arms well prepared for attack. "Where did you get that?" She asked.

"It was a gift," he smirked before showing her the empty parachute and the new ammunition that arrived an hour or so ago while she was still sleeping.

"Are you sure it's safe out here?" She asked and Anagan nodded.

"Yeah, we're away from the tree line so everything should be fine."

BANG!

The blast hurt Flora's ears and made her body jolt. She stood to her feet and desperately searched the sand for Helia and Glenn but saw neither of them. Then, suddenly, they heard a scream. Anagan pivoted on his heel to see Radius, the tall and well built man from District Two, screaming as he ran towards the water, his entire body covered from head to toe in blood that dripped and hit the previously pristine sand like sticky rain drops.

Something shiny and black flew through the air and he stopped running and became still, his body falling forwards like a ragdoll and another canon sounded.

"RUN!" Anagan yelled as four tributes ran from the trees and straight towards them.

Anagan lifted his gauntlet and fired toward Valtor who easily hit the arrow away with his butterfly swords. Flora ran as quickly as she could against the tree line before she felt Anagan pull her wrist to the left. She fell in the sand and turned just in time to see Ophelia fall to the ground. One of Valtor's bloodied butterfly swords sticking out of her back. She made it quickly to her feet and Anagan pulled her along, desperately trying to keep her safe. He turned again to see Valtor continuing in his pursuit, three others alongside him.

They ran and ran and ran, until they were at the far north side of the central salt water lake. Flora transformed and turned just in time to be tackled by another young woman in her own form. The two fought against one another as Anagan found himself underneath Leon from District Seven who had a smile ten feet wide.

He stabbed his khanda at Anagan's head but he moved away just in time, bringing his legs under his enemy simultaneously and kicking him away. Anagan raised his two gauntlets before him and fired, two arrows flying into and through Leon's eyes and into his brain, killing him instantly. He landed on the sand with a thud, blood pouring from his eyes where the arrow feathers remained.

Flora managed a blast at Chimera as Griffin stepped forwards and threw a knife, managing to tear a hole in her Enchantix wing. She landed on the sand with a harsh bang, her back feeling the tiny fibres rip and tear. She tried to get up and looked back at the damage, knowing that with only one functioning wing there was no way she'd be able to fly.

She looked forwards as Griffin lifted her hands behind her back as if to grab something from her shoulder blades. A dark form of smoke flowed from behind before she pulled her hands back forward, eight individual kunai knives shining between the gaps of her fingers.

She took a step forwards to gain momentum and started to throw them forwards when Valtor grabbed her wrists forcefully with his broad hands. "She's mine." He growled.

"No she isn't!" Yelled a voice from above, making Flora look up to see Icy floating with a grin on her face. Icy fired three daggers toward Valtor who ducked and let go of Griffin's hands. She took a step backwards before uncrossing her hands and sending the knives flying. Icy held her hands before her and concentrated, managing to cool the air around them and encase each one in ice. Carefully she turned her hands in a circle, making their tips turn back towards Griffin before they fired. One knife cut Griffins leg, forcing her to retreat as Valtor stalked forwards to his target.

Chimera suddenly flew from her position on the ground, removing a gladius blade from her back and charging at Icy. She saw her from the corner of her eye and managed to conjure an ice blade just in time to stop her - their blades locked in combat.

"Finally, I have my prize… you certainly are a difficult little one to track," Valtor sneered as he neared Flora. She lifted a hand and shot a blast that he caught with his hand and hit Anagan with, sending him to the sand with a bang unconscious. "Is that all you have?"

"Who are you?" Flora asked as he held his remaining butterfly sword in his hand firmly and watched her slowly pull herself away from him. He opened his mouth to respond and instead was met with a heavy kick to the chest.

"Hurry and get her out of here!" Helia yelled to Glenn who helped her to her feet.

"But we need to get Anagan as well." Flora protested.

"Just get out of here!" Helia commanded, holding his naginata before him.

Chimera took one hand from her blade and used it to blast the witch in the chest, catching her off guard and making her fall to the sand on her back. She felt winded and struggled for breath as she heard Flora and Glenn to her left moving Anagan towards the forest.

"ICY!" Flora yelled, turning around to see Chimera with her blade pointed and ready to attack. She flew straight down toward the ice witch who gripped her ice blade and waited for the right moment to strike. Mentally counting down she groaned and brought the handle to her chest and watched Chimera's eyes widen with realisation. Her wings didn't have time to stop her and she fell straight down, her face mere millimetres from Icy's stern face and body impaled.

Icy watched her deep blue eyes lost their spark and felt the trickle of thick and sticky crimson blood slithering down her blades hilt and onto her arms. With a groaned push she shoved the young girl to her right and took a few raspy breaths before holding her breath, getting to her feet and firing a massive blast of cold ice magic Valtor's way. It hit him square in the back and as he turned to try and stop the attack his legs and torso started to freeze.

"Come on!" Icy yelled to herself while trying to keep her shaking arms steady enough to channel it. Valtor threw his sword in Flora's direction but she dodged the blade as the wizard's neck and arms finally froze him to the spot and Icy collapsed to the ground. Helia quickly ran to her aid and placed an arm around her shoulder and the small group of five left the scene.

BANG!

The canons fired three times and the faces of the departed appeared in the sky; Radius, , Leon, Chimera and Ophelia.

Eleven dead and the games had only just begun.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for reading and please review :)**

Question Time!

I know we haven't had one of these for a while now but I wanted to throw a question out there:

Which of the following characters would you like to see make an appearance inside the next chapter?

a) Coda Torta

b) Luna (Stella's Mother)

c) Gantlos

d) Teredor (Layla's Father)

e) Nebula

**Please respond through Review or PM, the most voted response will feature inside the next chapter :)**


	14. The Hindrance

**AN: Special thanks go to Amy47101, ****I-Angel92****, chinaluv and ****Dragon at play**** for their reviews of the last chapter and for casting their vote. The winner was Luna and we will see how and where she comes into play here. More questions will be posed in upcoming chapters so be sure to cast your vote.**

**Please note that this chapter changes several things that were not in the book in order to accommodate for magical capabilities and to add a twist in the games proceedings that was never used before. Please read, enjoy and review.**

**Warning: This chapter contains some violence, blood and character death, you have been warned.**

* * *

**Chapter 13**

_**The Hindrance**_

Helia's lungs burned as he ran through the forest with Icy over his shoulder. Her additional weight made it uncomfortable to run against the ground and when the heavens opened things got even worse.

His foot slipped against the soaked earth and he fell forwards but managed to stop himself just in time and continue behind Glenn and Flora who held Anagan between them.

They pulled him up the steadily climbing hill, barely able to see a thing through the heavy steam filled fog that eclipsed the entire arena. Their heads beaded with newly forming sweat and their unconscious comrades wounds bled fresh.

The canons fired, one after the other in rapid succession as their faces lit up the sky. Helia took a moment to look up and missed his footing making him stumble. "There must be somewhere we can hide out!" Helia called from behind and Glenn turned to see him struggling, his long hair stuck around his face and neck.

"I don't see anything!" He called back as lightning and thunder echoed across the sky and shook the tributes to their core.

Suddenly lightning struck a tree to their right, making the group quickly back away from the black bark. "But we can't stop, it's too dangerous!"

"We'd be safer on the beach!" Helia explained, "of course if the others weren't still there!"

"But they are so we just have to-" Glenn stopped when he was pulled to the floor and met a face full of sandy dirt. Flora got to her knees and carefully raised a hand high into the air to conjure a shield. It was round and carefully encircled the group and stopped the rain from above hitting them any longer. Its subtle green glow might have attracted others from nearby but they needed a break.

"How is Anagan?" Asked Helia, carefully lying Icy down on the earth and supporting her head with his knees.

"I'm n-not sure," Glenn answered, before asking Flora to create a gap in the shield for him to exit through. He stood in the open and opened his mouth to capture as much water as he could to rinse his teeth and face before returning.

"How is Icy?" Flora asked and Helia felt for her pulse, it was weak but there. "Pulse is weak and she's obviously out of it."

"Look at that gash," Flora pointed, noticing the deep cut that must have been caused by one of Chimera's strikes. "We need to patch that up before it gets infected."

"But how?" Helia asked, with no food and scarce weapons their strength was depleted at the best of times but with no form of dry material to use to help clot the wound it was even more difficult. Icy's eyes opened softly and Flora took her hand in her own. "Icy, can you hear me?"

Icy blinked a second time, her vision still blurred and half closed. She smiled a little lop sidedly before her eyes closed again and her body became limp. "Icy? Icy!"

Helia felt to her pulse a second time and this time felt nothing beating beneath his fingertips. "She's stopped breathing," he announced before Flora moved towards her head and Helia started compressions. He counted to twenty and ordered Flora to breathe into her mouth… nothing. Again and again and again they tried to make her breathe, to keep the canons firing at bay.

"Come on!" Helia yelled breathlessly, pushing his hands two inches deep into her ribs to get her heart started again.

Flora took Icy's hand in her right while her left absently stroked the witches forehead, pulling away the hairs from her eyes. She closed her eyes for a moment and concentrated, silently praying for her to open her eyes again but instead she felt a tingling sensation escape both of her hands and flow through Icy's body.

Helia lifted his hands away and watched Flora intently, wondering what she was doing. The moment that Icy's eyes opened and she took a deep breath into her lungs it was clear, she'd healed her.

Icy sat up and lifted her right arm to see the gash completely gone while Glenn and Helia were staring in shock. She turned to Flora who too was surprised. "What did you do?"

"W-what do you mean?"

"What did you do!" Icy snapped, clutching Flora's shoulders in her hands with a new found strength.

"I… I don't know."

"You healed her," Helia sighed and Icy looked back to him. "But that's impossible. Healing magic is forbidden in the arena!"

Flora looked to the sky, knowing that the entire magical dimension was probably holding its breath, waiting for an explanation. She could already hear the ancestral witches plotting their assassination, plotting the activation of whatever challenge would surely finish them off. She wondered if they would start removing the exterior of the arena again to try and kill them, put a hole beneath her feet and make her fall through into oblivion and die for eternity. But, nothing was happening, and that in itself was more unnerving than anything else she could have imagined.

Anagan groaned, creating a welcome distraction. He rubbed the back of his head and lifted himself to sit up. "Did I miss anything?" He asked but no one answered him, they were still fixated on Flora, each one desperately wanting to know the truth but before she could open her mouth to answer a silver parachute floated from above and landed near their bubble. Creating a hole through it Flora leant through and brought the wet container inside their dome and sealed the opening shut.

The number twelve was written clearly on the side so Flora opened it and, lying inside, she found a gold pocket watch, its hands ticking away slowly and, in the centre imprint, was her rose pin. Floras hand absently went to the pin on her shirt, still holding on securely.

"Why would someone send a watch into the arena?" Helia asked as Glenn examined it further.

"Maybe it's trying to give us some sort of clue," he explained, peering closely towards the centre and seeing twenty four tiny diamonds, twelve fine lines leading from them to the centre and a golden ring covering the majority of the clocks face.

"Wait a minute," he sighed suddenly, everyone forgetting momentarily about Icy's miraculous recovery. "Look closely at this." Helia took it into his hand and looked at the diamonds, the way the rings were shaped, the lines, the centre piece and his eyes opened with realization.

He passed it to Flora who examined it the same way, she turned it to the left and to the right and her lips parted. "It's the arena."

"What do you mean 'it's the arena'?" Asked Anagan, reaching for the watch.

"The centre point of the watch, where the hands extend outwards, is the Tree of Life. The twenty four diamonds are the twenty four tribute platforms and these twelve lines are the sand banks that we had to run along towards the Tree of life. The outer ring represents the forest and the hands-"

"Represent time!" Flora exclaimed. "The arena is a clock!"

BANG!

"What's the time?" Glenn asked and Flora looked down, "ten o'clock, on the dot."

Picking up a stick Glenn dug it into the ground and drew a circle and then sliced it into twelve parts with a dot in the centre for the arenas middle. "Where are we then?"

"I'm not sure," Flora replied, uncertainty in her tone. "It all looks the same."

"They must have done it on purpose to make each part of the forest appear the same so that it's more difficult to understand where you are," Glenn explained. "The only thing we can do is go out onto the beach to see where we are and then, from our relative position, we should be able to find out where we are."

* * *

They heard a groan and lifted their heads to see Luna struggling through the jungle to their left. She fell into the mud; her usually blonde hair mattered with brown and face showing obvious signs of distress. She remained still for a moment, sizing up the group before making to turn away from them.

Icy lifted Flora's bow and arrows and aimed squarely for the mentor. Nodding her head Flora opened a hole in the barrier for her to shoot through. Icy's fingers remained poised and prepared and, with both eyes open, she fired.

The arrow disappeared into the trees and they heard a yell and waited for the canon to fire. But they didn't hear anything. Confused Icy loaded the bow for a second time and was about to shoot when a blast of moon magic shot through the hole and exploded the barrier from the inside out. Flora landed with a bang as Helia did the same and when they scrambled to their feet they saw the strong mentor holding Glenn against her chest with her two twin hook blades crossed just under his neck. Icy reloaded the bow and was ready to fire but hesitated, knowing that it wouldn't do them any good if they hit Glenn. But, at the same time, she had considered it if even for a moment.

"If you want to shoot me then you have to go through him."

"What do you want?" Anagan asked, both of his arms held forwards, crossbow gauntlets ready to fire.

"I want you to die!" A clap of thunder and a streak of lightning echoed through the valley at once, the lightning struck the tree behind the fairy of the moon. She was jostled to the side and Anagan fired twice at her shoulder as Glenn managed to push her arms away in the commotion. One of the arrows stuck firmly in her flesh but she took it in her hand and pulled it back without a grimace. Her other hand fired a blue blast of magic from her hand at Helia who quickly defended it.

The fairy crossed her arms and suddenly she disappeared. Glenn got back to his feet and searched the area, the others on high alert as Icy prepared to fire at a moment's notice. Suddenly she felt another hand on her bow and, just as she tried to pull it back, was tripped face first into the dirt.

Helia remained on high alert before Flora when he heard her struggle and turned to see Luna standing behind her, the bows wood pulled against her neck. Glenn ran forwards and pushed the two of them apart as another lightning strike illuminate the sky. The two fell into the mud but before Anagan could run forwards to stop the blade from slicing into Glenn's chest it was already too late.

The blade entered and exited cleanly, leaving the puddles of water tinged red. Luna stalked to her feet and aimed for Flora once more and Icy shot as many ice darts as she could in the Solarians way but she deflected them with a shield. Just before Helia raced forwards to end her life, Glenn clung to her back with his coil of wire wrapped around his hands. It dug into her neck, sharply cutting off her access to oxygen but before she could do anything else Glenn held her neck with one hand and threw the coils metal container into the sky.

Keeping a firm hold he looked to Flora and smiled slightly before lightning darted out of the sky, hit the container and flowed down the wire to the two of them, electrocuting them both. They fell to the water covered ground and Helia pushed Flora back as the puddles conducted the charge and made the two shiver, jolt and scream more.

The rain stopped almost instantly and Flora looked to her pocket watch, eleven o'clock. This part of the arena was now deactivated. Hurrying forwards Anagan and Helia pulled Glenn away from Luna as Icy checked the moon fairies pulse and found nothing. She placed her fingers over her eyes and closed them before uncurling the wire from around the two bodies and placing it back into the awaiting container.

BANG! The canon fired to signal Luna's life had come to an end.

Glenn was, remarkably, still breathing but only just.

"Here let me help you," Flora urged, kneeling next to his side and placing both of her hands on his chest but he forced his limbs to take her wrists firmly in his hands. He shook his head softly. "You need to save your strength…"

"Forget about my strength, it will be okay." He coughed harshly and turned his head to the side to look Anagan and Icy in the eyes. His left hand moved to the coil of wire and he nodded ever so softly, making Icy nod in reply. Flora and Helia had no idea what he was trying to say but knew that they had spent time together before joining their group so they may have made an agreement of sorts.

He inhaled a breath through his nose before closing his eyes and his head lolled to the side.

BANG!

* * *

Flora sat back on her legs before Helia pulled her to her feet by her arm. "We need to get away from here," he explained softly, leading them anticlockwise to the previous area which, funnily enough, was dry as a bone. One airship flew overhead and collected the two bodies as they watched before flying away. Three faces appeared between the stars. The first belonged to Luna, the second to Glenn and the last one to Morgana before they faded away entirely.

"Attention tributes, attention tributes," spoke the familiar voice of Avalon the television presenter. "Congratulations for making it into the top ten. It has come to the Game Makers attention that one of this year's competitors has used healing magic illegally. As such, they will be dealt what is termed a _hindrance_."

A hindrance was the ultimate punishment for a tribute and one had never been used before in the games long history. It was the vilest and cruellest punishment, sealing the fate of whoever was unlucky enough to be targeted.

A bizarre green light spread out from the Tree of Life, illuminating the forest just before the tree line as two thicker lines ran down either side to the very top of the hill and joined together, bathing those contained within in a dull green light.

"Every ten minutes, from this point onwards, until the perpetrator has been eliminated, the Tree of Life will illuminate the section of the arena that the rule breaker is hiding in for all to see. This light will last for thirty seconds before dissipating." Flora's mouth hung wide as Anagan, Icy and Helia surrounded her on all sides, their eyes peering through the dense jungle for anyone coming their way.

"Good luck, Flora, may the odds be ever in your favour."

* * *

**AN: Thanks for reading and please review! They truly, mean the world to me :) the next chapter will be up soon.**


	15. Green Light of Doom

**A/N: 10,000 VIEWS!**

**The Blood Wars has just reached the 10,000**** view mark, thank you so much to everyone who is reading and following this trilogy and especially to those who take the time to review :) I cannot thank you enough for the support and hope that you will continue to stick with me and let me know what you think.**

**I know this chapter is shorter than some previous ones but I am working on making the final few chapters for this story longer.**

**Any errors are mine.**

**Warning: This chapter contains dark themes, you have been warned.**

* * *

**Chapter 14**

_**Green Light of Doom**_

"How were you able to do it?!" Icy yelled, watching the light disappear and the night sky quieten to an unnerving silence.

"I don't know!" Flora replied and Icy turned, taking the nature fairy's shoulders in her hands harshly.

"Yes you do!" She snapped. "How else could you have done it?!"

"I honestly have no idea, all I know is that my healing magic has been remarkably strong since I first left the arena. I thought that it would be taken away by the barrier when we re-entered." Icy thought about it for a moment when Helia spoke up.

"We think the shield managed to double her abilities when she passed through it after the first games rather than depleting it."

"I'd normally say that it was a blessing," the ice queen sighed, "but in this case it's definitely a curse."

"You can leave," Flora spoke softly before shaking her shoulders away from her touch. "You could leave me here, it traces me, not any of you. Why put yourselves in unnecessary risk?"

"She has a point," Anagan replied, making Icy turn to look him in the eye.

"Well if you want to go then why don't you?" She snapped.

"I didn't say that I wanted to go, I'm just saying that she has a point."

"This isn't the time to be heroic," Flora explained. "If you want to live then you're better leaving and giving yourself the best chance you have." The two seemed to consider it for a moment but neither of them made an impromptu decision. Finally, Icy turned back on her heel, the bow around her shoulders jostling as she did so.

"No," she answered. "You have only been given the hindrance because you used magic to save my life… so it's only fair that I use it to help you."

"You don't-"

"I do," Icy interrupted, cutting Flora short. "I don't know about superman back there but I'm not going anywhere."

"Hey!" Anagan laughed, walking forwards and holding his hand palm down toward the earth. "We said we'd do this as a team and I for one am a man of my word." Helia's hand landed on top of Anagan's as Icy pulled Flora's under her own on the pile.

"There's four of us, and six of them." Helia explained, as the pile broke. "Valtor is probably our biggest threat."

"Agreed," Anagan concurred, "he is by far the strongest and none of us have any idea of how capable he is."

"So what are we going to do?" Flora asked and a glint of determination filled Icy's eyes. She walked from the group of three and placed her hand on a nearby tree, her nails tapping the bark. In the distance she could see it, the Tree of Life, its golden leaves and trunk glistening under the moonlight.

"Get rid of their tracking system," Icy smiled making Flora instantly worried.

"What are you planning, Icy?"

She turned and walked back to the others. "Do you still have that spire, Helia?" She asked quietly and he removed it from his pocket, glad to have kept it on him after Glenn and he had gone out to collect water they never had a chance to drink. "Good, I have the coil of wire and a bow and quiver of arrows, what else do we have?"

"My two crossbows with a bit of ammunition left. Flora's winx, the spire and Helia's naginata," Anagan explained.

"We need more but it's a good start," Icy replied, searching through the trees again for something when she found several winding vines on the above trees. "We don't have much time," she explained before shooting an ice dart at the top to cut them down.

They piled at her feet before she threw another two at nearby trees and they collected at the base of the trunk. "Anagan, I need your speed. Flora, I'll need your magic and Helia I need you to keep a look out." They all nodded. "Let's get to work then, what time is it?"

Flora looked down to the watch, "it's 1 o'clock."

"We have plenty of time then." The green light illuminated their area again and lasted thirty seconds before disappearing. "We need to get this section of the arena secure enough before we move onto the next."

"What do you mean 'the next'?" Helia asked.

"We're inside the 10 o'clock region, I'm not sure what lies here but I know that we have plenty of time to stay here and give ourselves time. We need to move back into the lightning area in section 11 o'clock for my plan to work."

"Okay but how do we do that with everyone showing up to try and kill us, it shouldn't take them long to get here."

"No it shouldn't," Icy explained, "but we need to get preparing now."

"What do you need me to do?" Anagan asked and Icy smiled before taking the spire from Helia and passing it to him. "I want you to run a good twenty meters away from us and start spiring every tree that you see, make sure you do it low to the base and plenty of times, we want to milk the trees dry." She turned to Flora. "I need you to use your winx to try and manipulate the earth to create a trench all the way around us for the water to flow into. Can you do that?"

"I'm not sure, the arena isn't a physical earth but a manipulated one, I'm not sure if it would work."

"It will. All technological advances use some sort of base material. Otherwise that would mean that the moon wouldn't work on strengthening particular tributes powers over others. I mean look at how powerful Luna was when she attacked us."

"Anagan has a point." Icy replied before turning to Helia. "I need you to keep a watch, I've heard that you are good at climbing trees quickly and that it used to be your job on District Twelve?" He nodded. "You see anything you signal; hopefully I will have a few other traps hidden in advance and the cover of night will be enough to help us, at least for the first four or so hours before the sun starts to rise."

* * *

The group went to work getting themselves ready for the attack and trying to make some form of stronghold. Flora focused her magic on the ground in front of her as Anagan tabbed another tree with the spire and created a large enough hole for it to begin draining into. The ground lowered a good meter and started to fill before she moved the left and continued focusing on piece by piece.

Icy carefully wove the vines that she had made into nets with her nimble fingers, carefully she tied another knot and spread out the first net, content with how it looked before shooting down more vines for their use so she could make more of them. She wasn't sure whether this would be enough to contain the forces coming their way, but at least they had something.

The green beam shot itself in their area again, making Icy cringe every time it did. Where ever the others were, whether they were hiding around them in the trees waiting to strike, or were following the green light like the three wise men and their sacred star, she didn't know. But they would be ready when they came; at least she hoped they would be. Helia jumped down from above just as Flora finished the last part and Anagan raced to finish the spiring.

"What's the news?"

"I see two coming our way from the nine o'clock position."

"Clockwise," Icy cursed a little, before checking the time again using their watch. It had been another hour without the sign of a single person, interesting considering how large the arena was. Icy had been hoping that a few of them would have tried to approach from the anti-clockwise position and get caught when each section activated. But the odds were definitely not in their favour by the looks of things.

"Okay, I've drained all the trees," Anagan explained, approaching the group and breathing heavily from his consistent run. "What's going on?"

"Two hostiles approaching, Helia, you get back up there and check it out." He nodded before quickly scrambling back up.

"This is what we've been waiting for. Flora, can you cover our make-shift moat with leaves and dirt, we want it to look just like any other piece of earth." Flora swept her hands in front of her and the leaves flattened themselves out over the creek.

"Okay," Icy sighed, "we're ready." She walked towards a nearby bush and took a few berries from its branches, passing a bunch to each of them. Icy popped one into her mouth and relished as the juice moistened her tongue. "Now, all we can do is wait."

* * *

Crickets of the night creaked and called while Icy sat on the ground in her position, close to where she had anchored one of her netting systems to activate. All she needed to do was use an ice shard to cut the rope and, hopefully, whoever got caught wouldn't be able to escape so they could eliminate them quickly.

Flora felt uneasy though had to admit that her ears were feeling a lot better than before their encounter with the birds of prey. She hadn't noticed the moss that Ophelia told her not to remove had come out on its own accord, probably during their frantic run for safety, but it didn't really matter much now. Their original group of six was now four, the two brightest minds who would know how to get them out of this situation, or at least with another tactical plan, were both gone now.

Flora trusted Icy and she knew that with her at the helm they would be able to steer themselves through this storm. She was positive that the ice queen had something planned, exactly what though she wasn't sure of. Icy's plans had been helpful in the past, she had saved Flora's life and sacrificed her own in order to do so, so it only seemed fair that she had earned her complete trust, not that it was easily obtained.

Helia remained in his position high in the tree tops and Flora lifted her head from her hidden position to see him. He was as poised as an eagle, though the tree shook with the breeze he remained steady, his stance not changing for hours. But what did she expect, he would spend all day inside the trees back home to survey the crops and harvesting for medicinal purposes, he was probably used to it.

"What are you thinking about?" Anagan asked, giving her a slight nudge with his elbow.

"Nothing, really, just wondering how all of this is going to turn out." The green light illuminated the earth again and Anagan's skin had changed to be tinged green, her own did the same and Icy's paler complexion made her practically glow. "Do you actually think that this will work?"

"I don't see why not," he answered honestly, "but I suppose that's the point of all these games, is it not? To keep us guessing, keep us confused."

"Yeah I suppose," Flora smiled before Helia whistled from above and Icy stood to her feet.

"What is it?" she whispered and Helia climbed down quickly, landing soft against the earth. "Two approaching the border." The green light stopped.

"What's the time?" Icy asked and Flora checked her watch, her eyebrows furrowing in the process. "What is it?"

"I…it says that its nine o'clock, but it hasn't been that long." Icy took the pocket watch from Flora and shook it slightly, checking that what it showed was correct. They had been setting themselves up and waiting for two or three hours. "It should be three or four o'clock."

"What does that mean?" Helia asked.

"They're playing with us, drawing the others closer, they must have activated at least two other sections but, if what this watch is showing is correct, then," she stopped her explanation and flew into the air, finding a nook in the nearby tree. Her eyes surveyed the horizon across and, her assumptions were correct. The beach to their left was stained with blood, obviously the residual amount from the sections activation, the one next to that contained dense fog, moving out towards the forest edge. To her right there was another one, slightly stranger than the previous, she could hear the menacing birds near the blood rain section screaming and screeching to their hearts content while a massive beast of sorts howled in the distance directly in front of her.

"Oh, God," she cursed, eyes wide but not wanting to believe what she could see. She was a previous victor, had survived and seen the games both before and after her own, but nothing could prepare them for what was coming next.

"What's going on, Icy?" Anagan asked as she landed back to earth, obviously shell shocked.

"They," she paused, "they're activating the entire arena."

BANG!

* * *

**AN: Question: I'm going to do something a little different for this chapters review question. I'd like you to decide the fate of one of the tributes listed below. Who, from those listed, should this chapter's canon fire belong to. As always the most voted response will be used in the next chapter.**

**a). Teredor (Layla's Father)**

**b). Coda Torta**

**c). Nebula**

**d). Gantlos **

**Thanks for reading and please review! :)**


	16. Survival of the Fittest

**A/N: ****At the time of writing this chapter we had hit a stalemate with the voting. However, another review a few days after the chapter was posted, broke the stalemate but also made the thousand or so words that I had begun to write for it useless. So Gantlos, who received two votes from last chapter's question, will still be included but will meet his end inside this chapter instead of the last.**

** I've decided to pick the tribute that I think has the least potential for this chapter instead. Thanks for taking the time to vote, I hope you understand and will enjoy this chapter.**

**Warning: This chapter contains dark themes, strong violence, blood and character death, you have been warned.**

* * *

**Chapter 15**

_**Survival of the Fittest**_

BANG!

Everyone's faces lifted to the sky as Teredor's face appeared between the stars, signalling what would be the home stretch for their stay in the arena.

"What do you mean 'they are activating the entire arena'?" Helia asked.

"The sections are all being activated one by one. The blood-rain section has been activated for so long that the blood is creeping all over the beach and the fog is starting to seep its way through the trees."

"But that means… those birds, they will be?" Flora asked, a shiver running up and down her spine.

"Yes," Icy replied, "but we have a plan, remember? We just have to-"

The green beam of light illuminated their section again and, out of the darkness, the group were thrown backwards by a wall of sound. Flora landed harshly against the ground and managed to get oxygen in her lungs long enough to stand and see Gantlos striding towards them. He pounded his foot just as Icy neared him and she flew backwards through a tree that broke into pieces, leaving her a tangled mess on the earth below.

Helia leaped down from above, his blade pointed directly to the villain who raised his forearm and created a shield of purple that stopped him in his tracks and sent him flying backwards. Flora conjured magic from her hands and shot at him as many times as she could when Anagan got to his feet and charged at the older victor.

The two bodies collided as his shield dissipated and they ended up rolling into the moat they created with a splash. She heard grunts in the distance before the green light dissipated and left them in darkness again. Quickly Flora ran to Icy's side, the witch was wounded but managed to get to her feet, cradling her ribs with her right arm.

The two stepped forwards when they saw something shine in the distance and Icy readied an ice dagger between her fingers. She heard the sounds of their footsteps and of Helia slowly getting back to his own feet before Icy yelled, "get down!" and pulled Flora to the earth, releasing the dagger through the sky where it cut the rope anchored on a tree behind them. The netting caught them immediately, Coda Torta's blade hitting the ground beneath him as he yelled and began pulling at the vines with his hands.

Flora scrambled for her bow and arrows and managed to get the arrow notch against the string when a blast hit her back. Icy fired another ice shard at the oncoming fairy but she wasn't strong enough to hit her target which made Nebula smile.

Her feet pounded against the ground as she aimed for Icy and Flora but Helia was already on the charge, the base of his naginata jutted out from a tree and hit the fairy in the face, sending her back to the floor where he raced to finish her off. Just as his blade plunged toward her head she rolled to the side and used her feet to kick him into the air. He skidded to a haunt further away, trying to force air into his winded chest while watching Anagan desperately clawing at the man towering above him in the moat. His crossbows aimed towards the blonde tribute but when he released the arrows they remained stuck inside the gauntlets. Water seeped into the mechanisms, rendering his only weapon useless but he wasn't going to give up just yet. Gantlos removed a battle axe from his back and pulled it toward Anagan who used the broken gauntlet on his right arm to protect himself before shoving the sharp spikes on his left one into Gantlos's stomach.

The district eleven victors' eyes widened before Anagan used the power of his legs to send him out of the moat and to the ground where he collapsed with a bang. Crawling his way out Anagan found his footing just in time for Gantlos to open his hand and hit him with another sound slap.

Landing on his side he skidded through the dense foliage before Gantlos got back to his feet and held his axe confidently, blood still dripping from his wound and into the earth below. He twirled it between his fingers with a smirk before pounding his foot against the ground a second time, releasing the water from the moat through a hole under the district four tribute who was sent rocketing into the sky. He caught a branch in his open hand until it released and finally landed back onto his feet before straightening to stand.

"We're not done yet," he said rather breathlessly.

* * *

Flora notched her bow and arrow just as Coda Torta managed the very last vine and started her way. It landed sharply in his forehead and he fell forwards like a brick wall against her when the canon fired. Carefully she tried to pull herself from underneath him as Icy shot attack after attack at Nebula who wasn't about to quit.

"Is that all you've got?! I thought you won the games once!"

"Funny," Icy smirked, holding both of her hands together and shooting them forwards. The snow blast froze the fairies shield and, when it broke, pieces flew and cut her arms and legs as she fell into another netting trap that Icy activated. "I thought the same thing about you."

* * *

Helia got to his feet just as Anagan hit the earth next to him. "What are we supposed to do?" Helia asked.

"J-Just keep them," he paused to inhale another deep breath, "away from Flora." Something heavy and sharp hit Anagan's face over his left eye. He landed on the ground with a bang, blood pouring from a cut, robbing him of his sight. He tried desperately to stem the flow and move out of the way as Gantlos approached. Helia stepped protectively in front of him, ready for whatever was coming next… when they heard a growl.

It sounded animalistic at first until the earth below their feet began to shift and move. Flora finally pushed Coda Torta's lifeless body off her and she took the pocket watch from her pants, blinking her eyes a few times before the hands became visible. Ten o'clock, this area of the arena was activating.

"Everyone grab something!" Flora screamed and Helia lifted Anagan to a nearby tree where he held a large branch around the trunk and strapped his naginata to his back. "Stand next to me and hold on tight." Anagan took the end of the branch and did as he was told, gripping it as tightly as he could.

* * *

Icy quickly did the same with another piece of vine and just as Gantlos laughed at the absurdity of it all when a wall of water flooded from the cliff above and blasted through the arena.

Nebula screamed as the net she was in broke and she went plummeting down the rocks, her screams echoing into the distance before they stopped suddenly. Flora looked to her right and saw Coda Torta's body flying down the newly formed river current as another tortured voice echoed from their left through the trees. One of the trees to their left shuddered when it was hit by something that cracked and the screams were heard no more.

"Hang on!" Icy ordered while tightening her grip on the vine as another stronger wave of water hit them, sending the two together behind the tree where their legs flailed against the current and they held their breaths as much as they could. Water hit Flora's eyes and made them sting and burn while Icy did her best to keep her head above the current and keep her grip, though it was becoming harder and harder with the water seeping through her fingers. She prayed to whatever entity would hear her that the vine wouldn't snap in half and send them to their deaths.

It seemed almost ironic that they had been searching for water so desperately before and now hundreds, if not thousands, of litres were pummelling them left, right and centre.

* * *

Helia held tight to his end while Anagan did the same, the two guys managing to keep themselves balanced before waves towered from above. At the very least Anagan was glad the water would help clean the blood from his face but he wondered whether the girls had managed to keep themselves safe in the process.

His hands started to slip from the wooden branch and he gripped it even tighter. By now his arms had started to hurt and, judging by the pained expression on Helia's face, he was feeling the same. Trying to support their entire weight when it was being pulled away from them was difficult... and when the branch slipped both of them knew they were as good as dead.

Helia couldn't see anything, but managed to push himself away from a rock formation of some kind. The current was too strong for him to swim against and, when the trees around him started to fall, he knew it was going to get a whole lot worse. He saw strange birds flying through the air above as the trees toppled from their position and hit the earth with bangs loud enough to be heard beyond the arena's edge.

Then he saw it, a piece of rope, floating beside him and he took it into his hand, held on for dear life and threw it around a nearby tree trunk, quickly moving to get both hands on either end. Instantly he stopped moving and held his face against the bark, heaving oxygen into his lungs. "ANAGAN!" He screamed over the crashing tide.

Gantlos's battle axe suddenly hit the tree to his right and, hanging onto the end of it for dear life, was Anagan. The two held on for what felt like hours but it was only another ten minutes. The green light illuminated their section again and he cursed. At least they had an opportunity to fake Flora's death if it hadn't, but the arena would never be that kind. Only a foolish tribute would follow them into this part of the arena right now, and there were only two left that stood in their way, if the arena didn't kill them first.

BANG!

BANG!

Two canon blasts and the water stopped, making the remaining four tributes land with ungraceful thuds to the muddy earth beneath them.

"Flora!" Helia shouted, getting to his feet and shaking as much water as he could from his clothes though he knew it was useless.

"Helia!" she replied from her position as Icy and herself staggered to meet the others. Flora instantly noticed Anagan's eye and she asked him to move his hand. When he lifted it she could see the eyeball had been visible damaged, the previously deep brown had become white indicating blindness and blood still seeping from the wound. Carefully she held her hand against his face and concentrated carefully. A white light glowed from her hand and when she removed it all that remained was a scar. The iris had returned to its usual colour and had restored his sight.

She didn't know if they would have to pay an extra price for her using the abilities once more, but she didn't truly care. They had been through hell and back, and nothing they could do could make things any worse… at least, she thought they couldn't.

"Thank you," he replied before noticing Icy staring into the distance.

"What?" He asked before turning to see it. The tidal wave had managed to pull trees from their routes and they had a clear view of the destruction. The fog surrounded the bottom half of the arena and they heard the birds beginning their call. Blood eclipsed the sand; there wasn't a single drop of water wasn't crimson red near the Tree of Life, and lightning illuminated the dark, black sky. Animals howled as they searched for their prey and Nebula and Gantlos's faces appeared in the centre amongst the clouds. The ominous shapes of those dangerous and deadly black hawks flew overhead against the grey, their golden wings and beaks shining with the last remnants of moonlight.

"What's the plan, Icy?" Anagan sighed, feeling sticky, muggy, foggy and weak.

She turned to face the water soaked group, her own white hair plastered against her face.

"We do what they want us to," she smiled, "give the audience a good show."

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for reading and please review :) just two more chapters to go!**

**Question: Are you interested in reading 'The Blood Wars III'?**

**a) Yes**

**b) Sort of/****Not really****  
**

**c) ****No**


	17. The Last Smile

**A/N: This is the second last chapter. Thanks goes to those who reviewed and asked for The Blood Wars III, it will be posted soon after this fic comes to an end. This entire chapter was inspired by the instrumental track 'Flying Through The Air' from the Resident Evil Retribution Soundtrack, give it a listen should you get a chance because it's amazing :)**

**Thank you also goes to people who have voted inside my profile poll about what characters from this fan-fiction they would like to see inside The Blood Wars: Revelations. The voting will close when I post the final chapter for this fic so, if you haven't done so already, let me know through review, PM or the poll before time runs out.**

**Warning: This chapter contains dark themes, strong violence, strong blood references and character death, you have been warned.**

**All errors are mine.**

* * *

**Chapter 16**

_**The Last Smile**_

Icy sprinted into the eleven o'clock section, her feet racing against the muddy earth to her destination. The others quickly followed in hot pursuit, not entirely understanding what her so called 'plan' was. Anagan raced to be eye level with the witch but he didn't ask any questions and it was only when Helia spoke up from behind that they both stopped. "Where are we going?"

"To the lightning area," Icy explained, halting her advance and turning to face the perplexed couple. Her hand reached into her pocket for the coil of wire. "Glenn… when we first met one another, after a little… hostility, he told me his plan. He said that the Tree of Life is the very centre of the arena, it's the most important thing, not only for tribute supplies but for controlling the environment. The reason it's always in the centre is so that the underground networking cables can create the arenas environment and activate particular dangers or change everything. The command is sent through the control room, through the Tree of Life and it controls the change."

She looked intently at the two of them and neither said a word. They thought it over in their heads for a moment before realising what she was trying to say. They would use the coil to conduct the charge of electricity and then aim for the Tree of Life. If they managed to short circuit it then the arena itself wouldn't exist anymore and they could escape this living hell.

Flora nodded and Icy turned and started running again, Helia and the others closely behind her as they raced up the hill. Their wet shoes squelched against the ground as they forced their tired limbs toward their final goal.

Helia wasn't sure what targeting the Tree of Life would do. But he supposed there were two options, the first being that they managed to destroy the arena's illusions and that they ended up back in the magical reality chamber in Magix, probably confronted by a firing squad who'd shoot them on sight. Or they'd manage something more, completely destroy the entire arena and, in the process, end up killing themselves. Either way it was the only plan they had to make it through this, and if it meant that he didn't have to lift a sword to Anagan and Icy's necks after all the help they had been, then it had to be something at least.

But if it came to it, and this plan failed, he wanted Flora to be the one to return home. Anagan and Icy both earned it too, but he would gladly find a way to end his own life if it meant that she could be home with Miele and her mother.

Things had been difficult for Helia for most of his life. His uncle was the only family he had left, though Flora's family and Faragonda had soon become a part of one that he never thought he'd have. They had taken him in and treated him with respect and dignity, had taught him the true meaning of love and sacrifice and, beyond all else, had given him a hope that he had been missing for a long time now.

But the present was what was most important, and although he trusted both Icy and Anagan, he was still nervous about the whole situation. After all, Valtor was yet to show his face and that meant only one thing, either he was somewhere else, waiting to make a stand, or he was here, watching them as they walked, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

Flora had never seen a tree like the one they reached. It was extremely tall and consisting of a dark black exterior. Flora's neck strained itself in the process of looking to the top.

"Wow," Helia gasped, admiring the sky behind the black leaves.

Icy took the coil of wire in between her fingers and told Anagan to stand on the other side. They passed the wire to one another, carefully winding it around the trunk as they went. A distinct and beautiful pattern began to emerge in the light and Flora started to wonder this was actually a good idea.

"What's the time?" Icy asked, stopping Flora from second guessing the victors plan. She checked the watch.

"Half past eleven," she answered and Icy smiled before tying off the wire at the front of the tree, ready to be lead towards the Tree of Life.

"Good, that should give us plenty of time."

* * *

With the coil in hand Icy started to make her way down the slope, carefully uncoiling the wire as she went. Anagan took up the rear and held his gauntlets forwards. He fired one, hoping to see the arrow fly but it did nothing. Annoyed, he removed Gantlos's battle axe and held that instead, ready to throw it at anyone who came their way.

Flora took the front, an arrow already notched and pulled tight against the string while Helia took a firm hold of his naginata's pole and walked ahead with alert eyes. The green light illuminated their approach, yet again, and all of them were tired of its shine. There was no way to sneak around in the arena anymore. "They certainly named it right," Helia muffled under his breath, Icy couldn't help but laugh a little.

"That they did." Came a comment to their right and Helia turned just in time to meet a light green blast to his side. He flew into Icy and the two landed further away as Flora defended herself with a shield.

"I think it's time I taught you what it means to be a real victor of the games, little fairy!" Griffin taunted before increasing her blast. Anagan ran and jumped to her left just a something black flew through the air and hit him in the stomach. He landed with his back to Flora, arms around his middle and he didn't move.

"ANAGAN!" She yelled but Griffin's assault wouldn't let her get to his side.

Helia tried to uncurl the wire from around Icy and himself but, with the flick of her wrist, Griffin managed to tie the two of them tighter together.

"Flora!" He yelled just as her shield broke and she hit the ground. A particularly sharp rock hit her ribs and sent a wave of shivers through her body. She couldn't move, and found her mouth gaping open and closed like a fish out of water as her right hand tried desperately to push herself up. For a moment she wondered selfishly if she should just give in; let this beast of a woman kill her here and now so that her friends didn't have to suffer any longer, so that they had a chance to go home without the hindrance.

"Flora! Get up!"

Helia's voice begged as Griffin held her open hand her way.

"Goodbye, Faragonda's little angel."

"NO!" Anagan screamed before he pushed the witch to the floor and made her misfire. The two landed in the dirt before Anagan was blasted back. This time he flipped in mid air and landed on his feet, his eyes narrowing as he looked to his target. He twirled his axe between his fingers, inhaled a deep breath and, with all the strength he could muster, raced forwards. An unusual red glow surrounded Anagan and spread from his feet to his head and, suddenly, he split into ten.

The duplicate copies ran towards their target and Griffin conjured her daggers and shot as many as she could at them all. One to her right disappeared in a cloud of smoke, another to her left doing the same as she tried to illuminate them in time. But then she stopped, as the sound of metal and skin sliced through the chaos and she fell forwards, the battle axe sticking out of her back.

BANG!

Anagan knelt to his knees as the remaining three versions of himself merged back into his body.

Icy finally broke the two free from Griffin's confinement spell and they made their way over to help Flora to her feet. Icy knelt next to Anagan and she placed a hand on his shoulder. "You okay?" She asked and he removed a hand from his side, blood was seeping from the wound and through his fingertips.

"Let me heal you," Flora replied but he shook his head. "Use it on your own injury." Flora handed Helia the pocket watch before using as much magic as she could to try and relieve the pain. He checked the time as the green light illuminated their section of the arena again.

"Ten minutes until midnight," he sighed and Icy stopped herself from swearing.

"We can still make it," she explained, "but our real concern is getting far enough away from the blast."

The light disappeared just as Flora finished and felt much better. Her rib still ached and throbbed but it was more bearable than before.

"Quickly, we need to hurry!" Icy ordered, taking the coil and running down the hill with the others following as quickly as they could. Anagan pulled his axe from Griffin's back before following the other three as they raced for the Tree of Life.

Its golden trunk was a mockery to the bloodshed it had seen, a mockery to everything that the arena stood for. It provided hope, provided tributes with supplies, was their safe haven and also their demise. The moment Flora had first laid her eyes on it she was stunned with awe, but when her fellow tributes were slaughtered in its vines and branches, she wondered how long until it fell.

Now they had a chance to make that wonderment come true, to finally put an end to the one symbol of the games that stood out more than any other.

The birds flew overhead as the fog slowly seeped their way but they didn't turn back, they didn't hide, they didn't slow. They knew what they needed to do, not just to make it out of this arena alive, but also to make the world at large a better place.

* * *

Reaching the blood covered sand, it became difficult to know where the water edge began and where the sand ended. Icy ran with the coil before she jumped into the air and flew towards her target, Flora quickly transformed and used the last of her magic to land by the tree and start to unwind the coil. Icy passed it to her from one side and she passed it back as the sounds of Miele's screams entered her ears.

They begged her to stop, to turn back and win the games a different way, but there was nothing to stop them now. She turned and fired a shot at one of the flying beasts before taking the coil again.

Helia stood before Anagan as the clouds above rained blood. It wet Helia's hair and drained into his sight but he told himself not to panic and to remain calm. He opened them again and looked at the two girls, watching Icy's hair turn from a dirty white to crimson red as the water splashed against the shore and the fog slowly crept closer.

"Cover your mouths!" He called and Icy and Flora held their breath before they could find something to use to protect themselves. Helia lifted his blood covered shirt and covered his face with it, it stank of metal and iron but they had no other choice.

When the girls were done they started to fly back and the birds circled, they attacked and managed to separate them. Flora's screams were eclipsed as they clawed at her clothes and her last working enchantix wing was roughly torn to shreds. She fell to her knees in the red sand and lifted her eyes to see a line of beasts approaching from the southern end of the clock.

Helia checked the time. "Five to twelve!" He announced before hearing a strangled gasp from behind him. He turned to see Valtor. He stood triumphantly, a smirk on his face as Flora lifted her gaze and stared him in the eye.

"Finally, I found you!" With one throw of his arm Anagan was sent to the floor where he remained still, completely unconscious as his own blood mixed with the red rain. "And you're not getting away this time!" The birds flew away into the sky and Valtor sent a blast her way. Icy quickly defended Flora as Helia took his stance.

One more kill… just one more kill.

Valtor turned and shot his second hand to Helia who used the blade to make it bounce in return and hit him in the chest. Icy used the opportunity by raising her hand and making all of the water falling from above Valtor turn to ice. She threw her hands down and the tiny droplets formed like miniature daggers that pierced his skin.

Flora raced to the water's edge. "ICY!" She screamed, her arms shaking with exertion. She forced her magic reserves to give her just one more burst, just one more blast and its light green glow filled both of her hands. She threw it into the water where it hit the base and a massive series of vines exploded from beneath. The sheets of water they broke to the surface, Icy concentrated on and she sent them all Valtor's way, each one like a deadly sheet of paper that blasted the wizard.

Valtor desperately tried to wipe the ice droplet daggers from his arms but more of them kept coming, they stuck into his head, through his hair, his clothes, hands, shoulders, arms, legs, nothing was safe. He turned to his left just in time to see another larger sheet of ice fly past his face, his own reflection displaying his true fear.

He concentrated suddenly and his body and eyes glowed red before he released a blast that sent Icy flying away where she landed with a bang. Helia quickly ran toward the vine structure as the rain turned back into its liquid form.

"Flora! Get a hold of him!" He screamed before leaping onto the central trunk as Flora held her hands Valtor's way.

Valtor tried to hit one vine back but he rejuvenated itself, another took a hold of his middle before others took his arms and legs and thrashed him onto the icy ground. Helia held on tight to the vines with his fingertips, his naginata strapped to his back as he found the best position. Valtor managed to free one arm but another vine wrapped it tight, cutting off the flow of blood to the limb. With one final slam he lay on the ground and stared up as the lightning clouds illuminating the sky above.

Helia removed his weapon and held it horizontally before leaping from his position and holding it in front of him. Flora held on tight, kept her arms and legs straight though she knew she was going to collapse at any second.

The blade pierced through the air, the blood slowly dripping down his soaked arms and down the very tip before landing on Valtor's face. The wizard's eyes widened but Helia's remained the same as he gracefully plummeted towards earth. A spark of metal shone against the darkness before…

BANG!

Helia pulled the naginata from Valtor's chest and turned toward Flora, a smile spread across his blood covered face and she returned the gesture before they heard Icy scream. "RUN!"

Helia's hand reached towards Flora's when the lightning struck, its white glow spread the closer it got the Tree of Life and by the time she had a chance to scream his name it was already too late.

The spark spread through the water, wrapped around the Tree of Life's trunk, and after a supersonic boom that sent everything in the arena's path screaming in terror, everything went white.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for reading and please review! Just one more chapter to go!**


	18. The Beginning of the End

**A/N: Here we are, the final chapter for BW2! Thanks everyone for the support :) hope you enjoy this chapter.**

**Voting in my profile poll has now concluded, thank you everyone for your selections.**

****** I've posted the Official BW3 Cover and Wallpapers for you to check out here: chrissiemusa. deviantart gallery /41971890 (without spaces). Hope you like them! :)**

**Warning: This chapter contains blood and dark themes, you have been warned.**

**All errors are mine.**

* * *

**Chapter 17**

**The Beginning of the End**

She couldn't breathe, couldn't move. Even trying to open her mouth hurt and her vision was clouded with fog. She could have sworn that she was floating, if she didn't feel the glass, the things jabbing into her back, if she didn't hear the sound of metal crashing in the distance and echoed screaming. At least she assumed they were screaming, truth be told she couldn't hear a thing, not a word. She wanted the pain to end, wanted to be taken away from this misery forever. She could feel her heartbeat slowing down, its familiar rhythm beginning to drop to a steady and slow thump.

She felt her lungs trying to breathe oxygen, her heart struggling to do its only task, sustain her life and her neck throb and sting. For a moment she wondered about her mother and Miele, about what they had seen, about what they would think. She saw Mirta, Musa, Galatea and Derrick, Faragonda and Helia. Their faces seemed clear against the white and she wondered if she would finally get her rest. She'd fought for so long against the odds that now she needed sleep… uninterrupted, blissful, painless, sleep.

Just as her eyes closed, and her vision faded to nothing but an endless abyss of black, she heard someone pronounce "she's alive, but only just" before nothing at all, and for a moment she wondered if those would be the last words she would ever hear.

* * *

Flora's eyes fluttered open again. To her own dismay she didn't find herself with those that had been and gone. She was lying in a bed, handcuffs connected her wrists to the bed rails and she pulled against them as someone shouted that she was awake. She thrashed from side to side, the stitches over her ribs tearing as she moved and staining the white bed sheets with blood. Two doctors held her arm while another jabbed something into her vein and she fell back against the sheets, her eyes closing once more.

* * *

When she opened them again the cuffs were still there but she was a lot slower to react this time. Her head rolled on the pillow, her neck bruised and painful to move. She took a few strangled breaths before staring at the ceiling, her vision fading in and out of clarity before tears appeared in her eyes and she closed them once again. Wondering if the last time she saw Helia would be her very last.

* * *

When her eyes opened a fourth time she was glad to see the cuffs removed. She lifted her left hand to her head to try and do something about the pounding beneath her skull. She tried to move her right and found she couldn't. Looking down she saw her mother, her hand firmly clasped against Flora's and own eyes shut, fast asleep. Her body leaning against the bed where she rested her head against the mattress. She saw tear tracks against her cheeks and instantly felt guilty before lifting her head to see Miele curled up with a blanket in the corner on another seat. Both of them looked exhausted, underfed, weak and tired and Flora couldn't help but notice the bandage on her mother's arm and the bandaid over her sister's forehead.

She wanted to ask what had happened but found another wave of pain started from her head to her toes so she remained quiet and leant back against her pillow her eyes closing again to rest.

When she opened them again the following morning her mother was awake. A sad but ecstatic smile spread across her face. "Oh, my darling." She kissed Flora's right hand but was careful of the various drips and lines. Tears appeared in her eyes but she blinked them away.

"Helia?" Flora forced her throat to ask, finding her lips dry and tired. She could only manage a few words before exhaustion over took her senses again.

"He's alive," she answered honestly, "but you need to worry about yourself right now."

"Is…he…okay?" There was an unnerving pause before Lily responded but she blinked the tears from her eyes and looked to her right. A black pane of glass was affixed to the wall above Miele who remained curled in her covers; a pillow nestled between her head and the arm rest.

"He will be," Lily finally answered. "How are you feeling? Do you need anything?"

"C-Cold," Flora replied and Lily got to her feet and took another blanket from the cupboard. She opened it and laid it over her body but before she could say anything else Flora's eyes had closed again. She released a sigh before taking a seat. She knew how shattered it was going to be for her to learn the truth about her fiancé; bad news would only worsen her condition

Faragonda had refused to let Lily in to see her daughter until she agreed to keep the truth from her until the time was right. So here she was, choosing her words carefully, hoping to not alarm Flora at all so that she had an opportunity to get herself rested and well. She had been through so much, had done so very much for the magical dimension and for her own family, but now she was paying the price.

She looked down at her pale daughter, her eyes twitching as she had another dream. The cuts on her arms, face and legs were more notable against the pallor of her skin and the deep burn mark on the left side of her neck stung with vigour.

A glint entered Lily's eye suddenly. She looked to the golden engagement ring sitting on the nightstand next to her floral pin. Both looked a little worse for wear but she had tried to clean them up as best as she could while waiting patiently by Flora's bed side.

* * *

After checking that Miele was alright, she exited the main door to see Faragonda and a senior doctor standing behind the glass she peered at just moments before.

"Can we tell her yet?"

"No," Faragonda replied, keeping her eyes trained on her young protégé, "we should give it another week or so."

"Do you agree, doctor?" Lily questioned and he nodded.

"Flora's current state is extremely volatile. She's been through a lot and probably doesn't even realise that she attacked one of our nurses. We're not sure what the trauma to her head and body has done to her memory so it's a good idea for us to wait until she has stabilised more before we tell her anything."

"I'm not sure how long I can keep it from her."

"I know it's hard," Faragonda sympathised, taking Lily's shaking shoulders in her hands. "You and Miele have both been through something traumatic as well, you need rest just as much as she does."

"But she needs us," Lily replied, "and she needs to know the truth. Every time I see her she's asleep and the only other thing that she asks me about is Helia. She's woken up three times and asked me about him, and each time I tell her the same thing."

"I know it's difficult but it's what we have to do for now." Faragonda's solemn eyes made Lily nod her head in agreement.

"How long until her wings will heal?" she asked and the doctor shook his head with uncertainty before facing the concerned mother.

"I'm not sure, usually magic has the ability to heal her wings properly but she did use all of her magic in that last stand off against Valtor. I'd like to say that it will only be a few weeks until she can fly again but I'm afraid that too is being hopeful."

"So it could take years?" He nodded.

"That's if it heals itself at all." He clicked his pen before taking down several observations. "Do you know what caused her healing abilities to be so strong in the arena?" Faragonda shook her head.

"No," she replied honestly, "though I have a sneaky suspicion that the Ancestral Witches are behind it all."

"I fear your suspicions are correct," he replied before his pager beeped three times and he checked the message. "I've got to go, another emergency." He placed her chart back on the table and quickly raced down the hallway, his long white coat flailing behind him as he went. Both women looked through the glass at Miele who had moved from her previous position. She had Flora's hand under her own and her older sister made the effort of turning her head to look her in the eye. They hadn't said anything but the tears falling from both of their eyes spoke volumes about their plight.

Suddenly, the silence was sliced through by the television in Flora's room and Faragonda raced inside to turn it off. Flora's head lifted when she saw her mentor, the screen returning to black.

"Put it back on," Flora spoke, her first full sentence.

"You need your rest." Lily explained but Flora didn't move, her eyes didn't blink and Faragonda flicked her wrist, bringing the screen to life once more.

"Did you all watch the District Games?" Avalon's voice asked to the crowd who all cheered, booed and sneered. "I think everyone did, right? Unless you've been living under a rock since the games started here is a quick recap of the games last moments." Flora watched their battle against Valtor as Avalon commented on how incredible that final battle was before the lightning struck and everything went white.

The screen jittered around with static before cutting back to Avalon's face. "I think, and this is just my humble opinion, that this year's games have to be the best I've ever seen! Anyone else agree!" The crowd cheered again and Flora felt sick to her stomach, quickly she leant to the side as Lily grabbed a bowl and held her hair from her face. Her body heaved up what little she had been forced to drink.

Miele passed her a glass of water and she used it to rinse her mouth out before Lily took the bowl from the room. A tear escaped Flora's eye.

"Of course, the only negative of this year's games was the careless acts of a few to attack the arena itself. I've never heard of such audacity to try and destroy Magix property for their own gain. Not only will those who caused this damage be prosecuted to the highest degree but they will face extreme charges for defying Magix and for, most importantly, not following the games rules."

Flora's body instantly leant forwards as a hovercraft flew above the Magical Reality Chamber that now lay in ruin. It had been completely flattened and rubble had blown from the centre outwards through where the crowd had been spectating. Some of them were killed by the flying stone and mechanics as others fled. She desperately searched through as a series of hover crafts all jettisoned and soldiers stormed inside the smoked rubble searching for survivors. Sirens echoed through the streets and then she saw Avalon's face once more.

"Magix has never seen such tragedy before. We thought that the days of rebellion had passed and that the districts could look forward to a new future with Magix by their side, but now the future relations between the districts and their generous capital are in jeopardy. I'm afraid that's it for tonight's news folks, but stick around because we're going to replay your favourite part of the games," a devilish smile spread through his features, "that's right, all of the deaths from number one through to Valtor."

Faragonda clicked her fingers and the screen went black, muting the crowds applause.

Flora leant back on her pillow and didn't say a word until Lily leant around the corner and bid Miele come to her, leaving the two of them alone.

"Flora."

"Just tell me!" Flora snapped, staring at the ceiling. "Whatever you are keeping from me, just tell me."

"I would have told you sooner, but your doctors advised against it in order to help you get strong enough to handle the news," Faragonda explained but Flora didn't respond. Of all the people that she trusted in her life she thought that Faragonda, the woman who guided Helia and herself through two arena visits, would be the one who'd be honest with her.

"How much do you remember?"

"Everything on screen," Flora answered softly, "I remember looking at Helia just after he'd killed Valtor but, after that, nothing."

"After the explosion we lead an extraction team in to get all of you out of there alive." Flora's eyes opened slightly and her eyebrows furrowed. She finally forced herself to look the older mentor in the eye.

"But… you mean that it was planned? The entire thing?"

"Yes," Faragonda replied, "Icy, Anagan, Stormy, Glenn and Ophelia had it all planned. You and Helia became a symbol of hope to all the districts and we knew that the Ancestral Witches had changed the rules specifically for the purpose of killing you. We couldn't let that happen, so we told a select number of other mentors that we needed help."

"And they befriended us?"

"Yes," she nodded. "They were tasked with keeping you both safe under any circumstances and with destroying the Tree of Life."

"Where are they?" Flora asked and Faragonda took a seat on the edge of her bed.

"Anagan is here, receiving treatment." She didn't want to discuss the others but Flora's eyes pleaded for answers and she knew that she needed to put the poor girl out of her misery. Her lips parted but the words wouldn't come at first, they were stuck in her throat and, only when she took a deep breath into her lungs could she start to explain. "Your mother and Miele all managed to get out of District Twelve in time. But Saladin…he didn't make it."

Flora hadn't asked about her mother or about Miele, but the bizarre injuries had made her wonder. She felt guilty for not asking after Saladin and could see the older man's face smiling across her breakfast table. "But how? What do you mean 'in time'?"

"After the arena exploded they sent airships to Linphea and bombed everything they could see." Tears began forming in Flora's eyes and she felt her throat begin to constrict, her lungs holding onto a breath, waiting for the worst.

"Flora," Faragonda's voice was dejected, like nothing she had ever heard before. "District Twelve doesn't exist anymore." She released a choked sob as tears rolled down her cheeks and onto the pillow. "And Helia and Icy," Faragonda continued, staring beyond Flora's watery eyes, "have been kidnapped by the Ancestral Witches."

_**TO BE CONTINUED…**_

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**A/N: Thanks for reading everyone and please review!**

**All the best until The Blood Wars III :)**

**Chrissiemusa**


	19. Author's Announcement

Hi Everyone,

I know that chapters are not supposed to be used for Authors Notes but wanted to let you know that the final story for this series, The Blood Wars III, is now published online under the Teen classification. Thanks go to those who have already read and reviewed the series. I hope that you enjoy it's conclusion.

Thanks,

Chrissiemusa :)


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